Sam Neill, the actor who everyone will forever remember as Jurassic Park‘s Dr. Alan Grant, has passed away at 78. His family confirmed the sad news via his Instagram account on Monday. According to the statement, he passed away in Sydney, Australia, surrounded by loved ones.
His death comes just a few months after Neill himself announced that he was cancer-free. The actor had spent many years being treated for a very rare form of blood cancer. His family says his death was sudden and unexpected.
Today the world stood still as tributes have poured in from across the globe, including messages from his co-stars on Peaky Blinders, where Neill played the ruthless Chester Campbell.
But amidst all the sadness and all the touching shoutouts, it’s a small detail about Neill that fans keep talking about: his farm.
Sam Neill’s Farm Is Full of Famous Names
Aside from giving us some of the best performances in some of the best films over the years, Neill also spent a lot of time on his New Zealand, where he grew pinot noir under his own Two Paddocks label. The surprising part is that Neill named the animals on the farm after his closest celebrity friends.
There’s a hen named after his Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern. And there’s a bull named after chat show host Graham Norton.
Neill documented the famous-in-name-only farmyard regularly on social media, turning his animals into minor celebrities. “I love to name as many of my animals as possible after my friends,” Neill told Vulture in 2019, adding that his friends would “pretty much drink anything,” which was part of why it worked so well.
It’s the kind of slightly absurd humour that defined Neill both on screen and off. It’s fitting, then, that even in the wave of sad tributes following his death, it’s a hen named Laura Dern that’s making people smile through the sadness.
Sam Neill’s Final Social Media Post
Neill’s last personal Instagram post, shared on June 17, was a short clip of a wind-up Charlie Chaplin toy that had belonged to his father. According to the actor, it’s over 100 years old and still works. Neill called it a nod to one of the great actors of all time.
Shared less than a month before his death, the post has since taken on a far heavier meaning for fans revisiting it in the comments.
Neill had over 150 screen credits, including The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and Peaky Blinders.
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