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Sam Neill’s former costar Rima Te Wiata is shedding light on what she claims occurred during the late actor’s final days before his shocking death at 78.
Te Wiata, who played Neill’s wife in 2016’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, broke her silence after the actor died on Monday, July 13, saying it “really sucks” that the actor was in remission — having publicly and successfully battled cancer — at the time of his death.
“I’m sure as he said once in the press, ‘He’s not scared of death, but he would be annoyed,’” Te Wiata, 63, told the NZ Herald on Monday, referring to one of Neill’s most iconic quotes about life.
She continued, “So I think, yeah, he would be like, ‘Oh, for goodness sake! I got over my cancer, and now look. Now I get pneumonia. What next?’” seemingly confirming that Neill was battling the infection prior to his death. (Pneumonia is caused by a bacterial, viral or fungal infection in the lungs that “inflames the air sacs,” causing cough, fever, chills and difficulty breathing, according to the Mayo Clinic.)
“He’s on his big journey now,” Te Wiata added, declining to provide any additional information regarding Neill’s alleged medical issue.
Us Weekly has reached out to Neill’s rep for comment.
News broke on Monday that Neill died in Sydney, Australia. The Jurassic Park star’s family confirmed his passing via a public statement, calling the loss “sudden and unexpected.”
Neill’s loved ones noted that they are “blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free” ahead of his death and revealed he was “surrounded” by his family and “passed with dignity.”
Three months prior to his death, Neill announced that he was cancer free after battling stage-three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma for about five years.
After going public with his diagnosis in 2023, Neill famously declared in an October interview that year that he was “not remotely afraid” of death. The actor decided to enroll in an Australian clinical trial to fight the rare blood cancer, which he confirmed in April had worked.
“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,” Neill said in an interview with Australia’s 7News.
After undergoing CAR-T cell therapy, Neill said, “I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing.”
The Peaky Blinders alum was an advocate for expanded access to the treatment up until his death, pushing for the option to be available to patients throughout Australia as it genetically modifies blood cells to better stop the cancer.
Despite overcoming cancer, Neill’s ex-girlfriend Laura Tingle revealed on Tuesday, July 14, that his body had been put through the ringer.
“The bottom line is he’d been fighting various forms of cancer for at least the last five years intensively,” Tingle, 65, said during an appearance on ABC Radio Sydney’s Sydney Mornings program. “That takes a toll on anybody’s body. He’d had a lot of chemo and a lot of immunotherapy. Thankfully, it had finally cleared him of the blood cancer that he had. But that left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system, and I think his poor old body sort of got a bit exhausted.”
She claimed, “He’s been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks, and everybody who loved him has been willing him on from near and far, but I think it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time.”
Neill’s cause of death has not been publicly revealed, but his passing has been felt by family, friends and fans alike, including Te Wiata.
She described Neill on Tuesday as “a very steady, peaceful grounded man. As a very good energy to have around. Very easy going. It was more like a lovely gardner. Somebody who is doing a veggie garden. There was sort of a gentlemanly demeanor.”
Laura Dern, who starred alongside Neill in the Jurassic Park franchise, also paid tribute to the late star. (Dern played Ellie Sattler, while Neill portrayed Dr. Alan Grant.)
“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend,” Dern, 59, said in a statement shared with Us on Monday. “He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit.”
She added, “He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
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