After a fulfilling career and life, legendary actor Sam Neill has passed on to the other side for a new journey ahead. Hollywood was particularly hit hard by his sudden death, losing its most valuable gem. His death also comes as a shock since the actor declared himself cancer-free just a few months ago. Nevertheless, his friends and family have taken to social media, especially his co-stars and industry friends, who have penned some heartfelt messages for him and his family.

Here are some of the celebrities who paid their tributes to the Jurassic Park actor.    

Laura Dern

The actress played Ellie Sattler alongside Sam Neill’s Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. Both of them did three Jurassic Park movies together – Jurassic Park (1993), Jurassic Park III (2001), and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). After all these years of friendship and working together, Laura Dern gave an emotional statement to Deadline on her friend’s passing.

“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,” Dern told Deadline.

Dern was not alone, as another Jurassic Park alumnus paid his tribute to the late actor.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg directed Sam Neill in two Jurassic Park movies – the first and the last ones of the original trilogy. They developed a deep bond that went beyond their working relationship. It was one of respect and mutual admiration. In his tribute to the departed soul, Spielberg thanked Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker, and Phillip Noyce for casting him in roles that caught his attention and led the director to cast him in Jurassic Park.

“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,” Spielberg said in his piece.

Among old collaborators who paid tributes to the acting legend was Nicole Kidman.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill were close lifelong friends and co-stars, famously playing the married couple Rae and John Ingram in the 1989 psychological thriller Dead Calm. They maintained a deep professional and personal friendship for decades after Neill took Kidman under his wing when she was just 18 years old. She put all of this into her soulful tribute to the actor.

“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,” Kidman said in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald.

One of his newer co-stars, Cillian Murphy, also joined the list of Hollywood bigwigs to honor Neill’s life and legacy.

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby was challenged enough in the initial seasons of the BBC series Peaky Blinders by Sam Neill’s Major Chester Campbell. Both the actors shared a close, deeply affectionate friendship that began on the sets of the show. Despite both their characters hating on each other in the show, that did not stop the actors from developing a warm bond off-set, openly praising each other’s acting talents.

“Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors. RIP,” said Murphy in a statement to Deadline.

He was also celebrated by his fellow Kiwi compatriot Karl Urban, who heralded him as a trailblazer for actors like him.

Karl Urban

Although Karl Urban never directly shared the screen with Sam Neill, they both did appear in the 2017 Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok. Urban played the Executioner in the movie, while Neill appeared in a cameo as an Asgardian actor playing Odin. This is the only credit that both actors share despite never sharing the screen together. 

“A beautiful man. A national treasure who gave so much to New Zealand and to the world,” said The Boys star in his Instagram post for the late actor.

A plethora of tributes have piled on since the moment the shocking news of his passing arrived months after declaring his cancer-free status. The actor made a lasting impact on cinema with his acting and on the people whose lives he touched with his magnetic personality and undeniable charm. He was in the truest sense a gentleman and a great friend. 

What does Sam Neill’s legacy mean to you? Do let us know.