Helen Livingstone
Reporting from Sydney

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has also paid tribute to Neill, describing him as "one of the greats".

"He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today – one of our greatest cultural exports," Luxon wrote on X.

Neill - who moved to New Zealand from Northern Ireland as a child - lived on a farm and winery in the Central Otago region.

"His work will be watched and loved long after all of us. Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight. Rest in Peace," Luxon continued.

Helen Livingstone
Reporting from Sydney

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has mourned Sam Neill, writing on X that he "starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts".

The New Zealand actor was regarded as an honorary Australian by many due to his connections to the country and he died in a hospital in Sydney surrounded by family.

"Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance," Albanese added. "He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace."

One of Neill's breakthrough roles was in the 1979 Australian film My Brilliant Friend and he took on many other Australian roles including that of Michael Chamberlain - whose daughter was killed in an infamous dingo attack in 1980 - in the film Evil Angels with Meryl Streep.

Just two weeks ago he was nominated for a Silver Logie at Australia's prestigious television awards, for his role in the drama series The Twelve.

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Colin Paterson
Entertainment Correspondent, BBC News

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If we look at one year, it kind of sums up Sam Neill.

In 1993, he starred as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, this enormous blockbuster. I showed it to my own boys for the first time last month, and it really still stands up as a film and truly terrified them.

The other film he made in 1993 was The Piano, directed by Jane Campion. It could not have been a more different film. It won the Palme d'or, Holly Hunter played a mute woman, and it was set in New Zealand. Sam Neill's role utterly had to change in the last act of the film because he's the devoted husband at the start, then he just rips into this nightmarish character.

One of his breakthrough roles was filmed in Britain right at the start of the 1980s - I think people forget he was Damien in the third Omen film.

That's how how versatile this guy was. He could do the whole gamut, and that's why there'll be a real outpouring today.

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While Sam Neill is known as one of New-Zealand's best known actors, his roots lie in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Neill's New-Zealander father was stationed in Omagh as an officer with the Irish Guards when Neill was born in 1947.

"I was born in Omagh, we lived in Armagh and my favourite place here was Tyrella beach, I sort of think that's where I grew up," Neill told the BBC in 2012.

He lived in Northern Ireland until he was seven, when he and his family moved to New Zealand - however Neill returned to his roots when cast as a Belfast police chief in BBC's Peaky Blinders in 2013.

At the time, Neill said his Northern Ireland accent had been "well beaten out" of him by classmates in New-Zealand, and that he had to get help from friends and fellow actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson to re-learn it for the role.

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In March 2023, Sam Neill revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer, describing it as "a ferocious type of aggressive" non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

However, in April of this year, he announced to the media that he was cancer free after undergoing CAR-T cell (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy.

"We’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing," Neill told Australian outlet 7 News.

In the statement from the actor's family, they confirm that Neill "remained cancer free", describing his death as "sudden and unexpected".

A statement from Neill's family says: "It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia.

"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

"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.

"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."

We'll have more on this breaking news soon.

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