Laura Dern has shared an emotional tribute to her ‘dream leading man’ and ‘beloved lifetime friend’, her Jurassic Park co-star Sam Neill
Legendary actress Laura Dern has paid tribute to her friend Sam Neil, after his death was announced at the age of 78.
It was announced on Monday that the Northern Ireland-born New Zealand actor, best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in the blockbuster dinosaur franchise, died in Sydney, Australia. His death comes months after he revealed he was cancer-free following a 2022 diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Laura, who played paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, and Neill’s character’s romantic interest in the Jurassic Park series, has paid tribute with a sweet thowback image of the pair in the initial 1993 film, along with several images of their friendship over the years, and a heart-breaking caption.
“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness, and love, always with the driest of wit.
“He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant,” she said, referencing his paleontologist character in the film.
Neill first appeared in the franchise in the 1993 film and reprised his role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and more recently returned for Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
Fans were moved by Laura’s tribute with Richard E Grant commenting with several love hearts. One fans commented: “Life found a way for you two to work together and help bring us one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. Thank you Sam, Laura, Jeff, and the rest of the amazing filmmaking family of Jurassic Park.”
Another said: “You were both my childhood heroes.” With a third adding: “Thank you to both of you for making my childhood so wonderful. I’m sorry for your loss, sending love to you Laura.”
The franchise also saw Jeff Goldblum play Ian Malcolm, a leather jacket wearing mathematician and chaos theorist.
Jeff also shared a tribute to Sam yesterday, sharing several images from across the film franchise and a message that read: “The next great adventure begins. Love, always and forever.”
Jurassic Park child star Joseph Mazzello has called Sam Neill’s death a “gut punch”. The 42-year-old actor played Tim Murphy in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film alongside Neill’s Alan Grant.Following the news of the actor’s death on Monday aged 78, Mazzello posted a video tribute on Instagram in which he struggled to hold back tears speaking about his former co-star.He began by saying: “Obviously not what I want to be doing today. I woke up to the news about Sam. I had been following his cancer diagnosis and his recovery and was so happy and thankful when I found out he was cancer-free, so this just comes I think as an extra gut punch, because I thought he was through it – but that is life, isn’t it?”
Mazzello then shared an anecdote about how he shared a post a few months ago about going to a premiere for a movie and Neill commented: “All the best Joey.”Holding back tears, he added: “I didn’t even realise he was following me. I didn’t know that even thought about me any more. But he was rooting for me. He was still rooting for me 33 years later. That was so special to me to know that.”The actor then reflected on how Jurassic Park was a “defining moment” in his life, then joking: “It’s not easy working with kids and Sam only pretended he hated us. He was actually an amazing scene partner, and it doesn’t feel like that long ago that we were just ad-libbing together and climbing down trees and up fences.“I’m so thankful for him. I’m so thankful that he was so great in that movie, because he made us great too.”Mazzello said he had always hoped they might work together again one day on a “Jurassic or anything”, but that it “wasn’t meant to be”.Speaking about Neill, he said the actor was “the best of us”. “I can’t say enough good about it and it’s just still shocking, and I’m going to miss him,” he added.Ariana Clarice Richards, who played Lex Murphy in the original film, also shared a tribute to Neill, in which she wrote: “Sam – you were more than just a lovely actor to work with – refined, thoughtful, a skill second to none – you were a mentor, protector, and above all, friend. Thank you for making our scenes together feel so real. I will be forever grateful to have been on this journey with you.”Neill would go on to reprise his role as Grant in both 2001’s Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.Jurassic Park child star Joseph Mazzello has called Sam Neill’s death a “gut punch”.The 42-year-old actor played Tim Murphy in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film alongside Neill’s Alan Grant.Following the news of the actor’s death on Monday aged 78, Mazzello posted a video tribute on Instagram in which he struggled to hold back tears speaking about his former co-star.He began by saying: “Obviously not what I want to be doing today. I woke up to the news about Sam. I had been following his cancer diagnosis and his recovery and was so happy and thankful when I found out he was cancer-free, so this just comes I think as an extra gut punch, because I thought he was through it – but that is life, isn’t it?”Mazzello then shared an anecdote about how he shared a post a few months ago about going to a premiere for a movie and Neill commented: “All the best Joey.”Holding back tears, he added: “I didn’t even realise he was following me. I didn’t know that even thought about me any more. But he was rooting for me. He was still rooting for me 33 years later. That was so special to me to know that.”The actor then reflected on how Jurassic Park was a “defining moment” in his life, then joking: “It’s not easy working with kids and Sam only pretended he hated us. He was actually an amazing scene partner, and it doesn’t feel like that long ago that we were just ad-libbing together and climbing down trees and up fences.“I’m so thankful for him. I’m so thankful that he was so great in that movie, because he made us great too.”Mazzello said he had always hoped they might work together again one day on a “Jurassic or anything”, but that it “wasn’t meant to be”.Speaking about Neill, he said the actor was “the best of us”. “I can’t say enough good about it and it’s just still shocking, and I’m going to miss him,” he added.Ariana Clarice Richards, who played Lex Murphy in the original film, also shared a tribute to Neill, in which she wrote: “Sam – you were more than just a lovely actor to work with – refined, thoughtful, a skill second to none – you were a mentor, protector, and above all, friend. Thank you for making our scenes together feel so real. I will be forever grateful to have been on this journey with you.”Neill would go on to reprise his role as Grant in both 2001’s Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.
Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg said on Amblin Entertainment’s Instagram page: “Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.
“Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Bryce Dallas Howard – who starred in the Jurassic World reboot – shared a video of Neill, Dern, and Goldblum playing and singing the Beatles song Blackbird on the piano, with the caption: “Sam. When we lived together in that little bubble for Jurassic World Dominion, in a hotel seven minutes from set, for four and a half months, I said that if anyone was going to go through a pandemic together, I was so glad it was with you. I still am.
“Sam was exactly who you hoped he’d be. Funny, warm, wickedly self-deprecating, endlessly kind. A beautiful human being who happened to also be Alan Grant.“Sam had an immense passion for life. Generous with his wine, his stories, his time. One of the most unassumingly attractive and magnetic people I’ve ever met. One of the greats, in every sense. He loved his home. He loved his family, his pets, his farm. He was a friend to everyone. I’m so sad for the world today but especially for those who got to see him every day. He lit up every room he walked into and made the experience of being human feel dazzling.“My heart is with his family and everyone who loved him. And truly, everyone did. I love you, Sam. I miss you. I love you.”
The statement announcing Neill’s death confirmed that he was surrounded by his family when he died: “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”
His family asked for privacy as they process his loss. Neill is remembered by his four children and eight grandchildren.
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