Sam Neill, Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders actor, dies aged 78

Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, has died at age 78 in Sydney. His family confirmed the death was sudden and unexpected; Neill had recently recovered from cancer. The BBC article is sourced from a T1 outlet with corroboration from multiple major news organizations (Guardian, ABC, NBC, Good Morning America, The Independent), all reporting consistent core facts—his age, primary roles, and recent health status. The reporting includes professional context from a HELLO! senior editor describing Neill's five-decade career spanning art house cinema, television, and blockbuster films including The Piano, Dead Calm, and Peaky Blinders, noting his public candor about his cancer battle. The article body focuses primarily on career retrospective and character assessment rather than detailed circumstances of death or immediate surviving family details, reflecting the limited information released by his family at announcement.