Sam Neill Battled Pneumonia Before His Death, His Costar Says

Sam Neill Battled Pneumonia Before His Death, His Costar Says

Sam Neill was navigating a health battle prior to his untimely death.

This according to the Jurassic Park star's friend Rima Te Wiata, who shared Neill had contracted pneumonia before he died July 13 at the age of 78.

“I think he would be like," Te Wiata told the New Zealand Herald, "‘For goodness sake, I got over my cancer. And now look, now I get pneumonia. What next?’”

The New Zealand actor was previously diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, stage 3 blood cancer, in 2022 before announcing he was cancer free in April.

Though Te Wiata, who costarred with Neill in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, said he was not afraid of dying, she emphasized that he’d be “annoyed” by the way in which he went.

And she shared the sentiment, adding, “It really sucks, actually," though the Madam actress is choosing to believe “he’s on his big journey now.”

Neill, who was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, was surrounded by his loved ones when he passed away this week in Sydney, Australia.

Following his death, Neill’s ex-girlfriend Laura Tingle told Sydney Mornings in an interview published July 14 that he was “pretty sick” in the final days.

“He’d been fighting various forms of cancer for at least the last five years intensively. And that takes a toll on anybody’s body,” Tingle—who dated Neill from 2018 to 2021—explained. “He’d had a lot of chemo and a lot of immunotherapy and, thankfully, it had finally cleared him of the blood cancer that he’d had, but it left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system and I think his poor body sort of got a bit exhausted, as makes sense.”

Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

"Everybody who loved him has been willing him on, from near and far,” she added. “But, I think, it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time.”

Though Neill—dad to four kids from previous relationships—was battling health issues in his final moments, his family shared that his death was unanticipated.

"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life," a statement posted to Neill's Instagram read. "The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free."

"They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care," the social media statement continued. "More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss."

For a look back at Neill’s life in pictures, read on…

For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App