Sam Neill Reveals Stage III Blood Cancer Diagnosis: “I’m Not Afraid to Die”

Sam Neill is opening up about his battle with Stage III blood cancer in his upcoming memoir. The Jurassic Park actor broke the news in the very first paragraph of his book with the words, “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying,” per The Guardian.  

He continued, “I may have to speed this up.”

The outlet reported the big reveal at the top of their interview with the actor, which allowed him to get candid about the process of writing his novel and undergoing chemotherapy.

Neill confessed, “I’m not afraid to die, but it would annoy me because I’d really like another decade or two.” He listed the reasons why he wants to stay alive: his new terraces, olive trees and cypresses and his grandchildren. 

He added, “But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.”

Neill grew concerned when he discovered swollen glands while doing press for Jurassic World Dominion. Weeks later, he was undergoing chemotherapy for a type of stage III blood cancer called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

He told The Guardian, “I never had any intention to write a book. But as I went on and kept writing, I realized it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live and I would go to bed thinking, I’ll write about that tomorrow … that will entertain me. And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.”

As of now, Neill has shared that he is cancer-free thanks to a new chemotherapy drug, but he says that he’s “not off the hook.” The actor has to take the treatment, which makes him feel “shithouse” for two days, monthly for the rest of his life. 

Neill expressed that he’s “just pleased to be alive,” saying, “I mean, I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments, but those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends.”

In addition to the Jurassic Park movies, Neill has starred in Until the End of the World, The Hunt for Red October, Possession (which Decider’s Brett White said made him reckon with his own depression) and The Piano. The New Zealand actor also played the title role in Merlin and appeared in the television shows The Tudors, Happy Town and Peaky Blinders. 

Neill’s memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, debuts on March 21.