Jurassic Park’s Sam Neill tearfully urges fans ‘not to worry’ over reports of his cancer

Steve Hopkins

The acting legend said that a ‘passing remark’ he made has been ‘taken out of context’.

Sam Neill has released a new video in which he states that he plans to be here for “many years to come” and in which he urges fans not to “worry” about him.

It comes after news stories circulated suggesting that his cancer treatment had failed.

The Jurassic Park actor, who revealed he had stage-three blood cancer in his memoir ‘Did I Ever Tell You This?’ in March, told Australian Story that his chemotherapy had stopped working.

The 76-year-old has angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma – a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma – and began receiving chemotherapy to try and tackle the disease, but it failed after just three months.

However, doctors have since prescribed him a rare anti-cancer drug, with the actor requiring infusions every two weeks.

This treatment has proved effective and Neill has been in remission for 12 months.

sam neill

Sam Neill in Jurassic Park

However, the Northern Ireland-born New Zealand actor told the Australian programme that doctors have said the treatment will stop working at some point.

That said, Neill stated that he is “prepared” for this and that, after thinking deeply about mortality following his diagnosis, he is now “not remotely afraid” to die.

He also told the outlet though that dying would be “annoying” because he has got more to do in life and that the idea of retirement fills him with “horror”.

In a video posted to his Instagram, Neill sought to reassure his family, friends and fans that “all is well” after his “passing remark” had been “taken out of context”.

“ALL IS WELL. I AM WELL,” the caption on the clip reads. “Please ignore conflated stories in the press today.

“A passing remark on the program last night has been taken out of context. Please be assured that I am firmly in remission and plan to remain so for years to come.

“All is well, beautiful day here in Western Australia, and tomorrow it’ll be too.”

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Sam Neill tearfully urges fans ‘not to worry’ over reports of his cancer

Sam Neill, meanwhile, said in the video: “They showed Australia a story last night and I made a passing remark that the treatment that I am on, that has me in remission, will inevitably fail one day. That’s what happens. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“But I’m in remission. I plan to be in remission for many years to come. I’ll bore you all to death with lots more work. And at such time as it does fail, we will try something else.”

Neill further reassured fans, stating: “There’s all sorts of things that are happening with cancer these days, it’s a whole new ball game.

“So please stop worrying. I’m getting a lot of messages on social media and from friends,” he said, becoming tearful.

“Sorry to worry everyone. Look, it’s all good. It’s all fine. It’s a beautiful day, I’m off to work and look how gorgeous these geraniums are in the background.”

In the Australian Story report, Neill said that while he was not afraid of dying, the days after his current treatments are “very grim and depressing” and leave him feeling like he’s gone 10 rounds with a boxer.

Sam Neill

Sam Neill in Peaky Blinders

However, the actor – also well-known for his roles in the movies Event Horizon and The Piano and the TV series Peaky Blinders – said he is determined not to give the disease too much thought, saying: “I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it.

“It’s out of my control. If you can’t control it, don’t get into it.”

Sam Neill also told the outlet that he has 10 days between the effects of his treatment passing and his next appointment to enjoy life.

And this he does, with the acting legend stating: “10 days in which I could not feel more alive or pleased to be breathing and looking at a blue sky.”

While receiving chemotherapy, Neill had to stop acting, at which point he wrote his memoir thinking: “I better write some of this down because I’m not sure how long I have to live”.

The actor began filming for the TV adaptation of Liane Moriarty’s novel Apples Never Fall before production was shut down as a result of the actors’ and writers’ strike in the US.

He is also filming season two of the Australian series The Twelve.