Steven Spielberg was among the first to pay tribute to Sam Neill on Monday morning, following the actor’s death at 78.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park,” the director said in a statement.
“Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children,” he continued. “I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Dern offered similar sentiments in a Monday statement of her own: “Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
Meanwhile, Neill’s “Peaky Blinders” co-star Cillian Murphy remembered the man for both his kindness and his humor.
“Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure,” Murphy said in a statement. “He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors…RIP.”
Nicole Kidman, who starred with Neill in Phillip Noyce’s nautical thriller “Dead Calm” in 1989, told The Sydney Morning Herald she was “immensely saddened” by the news.
“Sam was one of the greats, a joy to be around,” she said. “We met when I was just 18 and he took me under his wing and we stayed friends for life. He was charming, kind, funny and intelligent. He will be greatly missed, and my heart goes out to his family.”
In a post on Instagram, “Jurassic World” producer and director Colin Trevorrow called Neill “a deeply soulful and beautiful man.”
“He was a friend and collaborator at a challenging time, and his strength gave us all strength,” Trevorrow wrote. “I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters. It’s not every lifetime you get to befriend a legend. Forever grateful.”
Fellow actress Toni Collette also paid tribute to Neill on Instagram, posting a photo of them together with friends.
“I love you, dear Sam. You hero. You legend,” she wrote. “You sweetheart. Our great friend. You are already missed so very much. Continue in peace wherever you are.”
Neill’s loved ones confirmed that the actor died suddenly and unexpectedly in Sydney on Monday, though they noted he was not suffering from cancer at the time after being diagnosed in 2022. He is survived by four children and eight grand-children.
