Cancer-stricken Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has detailed his heartbreaking health battle as he revealed how close to death he was after chemotherapy stopped working.
The 78-year-old acting legend - who is now cancer-free - was open about his five-year battle with stage-three blood cancer in a new interview with Australian network 7 News.
Neill said: 'I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive.
'Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously.'
Neill is best known for playing Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise and says he is now cancer-free thanks to a cutting edge treatment - called CAR T-cell therapy -which genetically modifies blood cells.
He said: 'I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing. I’m very, very excited that this can happen.'
Cancer-stricken Sam Neill has detailed his heartbreaking health battle as he revealed how close to death he was after chemotherapy stopped working
Neill is best known for playing Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise; as he is pictured left to right with Joseph Mazzello, Laura Dern, and Ariana Richards in the original 1993 film
Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a personalized immunotherapy that genetically modifies a patient’s own T-cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, primarily used for blood cancers according to the National Cancer Institute.
The treatment is currently in clinical trials to treat another blood cancer, myeloma.
Hematologist Professor told the 7 News: ' [We] turbocharge those cells to then be able to now recognise the myeloma, which was not visible to the immune system before and then jump on it and kill it.'
With his new lease on life, Neill is now planning to make a return to acting.
He said: 'It's time I did another movie.'
Neill first went public with his cancer diagnosis in 2023 after being diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma the previous year after initially experiencing swollen gland.
He found out about as his stage-three blood cancer while he promoted Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.
In that film he reprised his role as Grant alongside original co-stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
The 78-year-old acting legend was open about his five year battle with stage-three blood cancer in a new interview with Australia network 7 News
Neill said: 'I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive'
He added: 'Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously'
He told Australian Story at the time: 'I'm not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn't worry me. It's never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed.
'I'd be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I'm not afraid of it.'
Neill first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is 'possibly dying'.
Neill's specific ailment was diagnosed as angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
Symptoms can include having a high fever, night sweats, skin rash, and autoimmune disorders.
Reflecting on life at the time, the seasoned actor once again that he did not fear death as he admitted, 'I'm not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I'd really like another decade or two, you know?
What is Angioimmunoblastic T-Cell Lymphoma?
Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is a rare, fast-growing blood cancer that affects your T lymphocytes (T cells), a type of white blood cell. It can also spread to other areas of your body like your liver, lungs or bone marrow. AITL sits under the umbrella of non-Hodgkin T-cell lymphoma and is a subtype of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
Typically, T lymphocytes destroy harmful microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. Under ordinary circumstances, they can also kill cancer cells. But sometimes, a T lymphocyte can transform into a cancer cell. More T cells may follow suit and spread uncontrollably. That’s how AITL happens.
While AITL is one of the more common subtypes of T-cell lymphoma, it’s rare overall. In the United States, AITL accounts for about 4% of all lymphoma cases and 1% to 2% of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases. It’s most common in people over the age of 65.
(Source: Cleveland Clinic)
Neill pictured alongside Dern in the original Jurassic Park film from 1993
Neill in Jurassic Park III (2001) alongside Trevor Morgan, William H. Macy, and Tea Leoni (left to right)
Jeff Goldblum, Neill, Laura Dern, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Isabella Sermon, and DeWanda Wise are seen left to right in Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
'We've built all these lovely terraces, we've got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I've got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.
'But as for the dying? I couldn't care less.'
The star was married to Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989-2017 and they share two kids - Elena, 35, and Tim, 43.
Neill starred in three Jurassic Park films including the original in 1993, Jurassic Park III in 2001, and Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.