I can’t help it! I’m feeling a bit sad and reflective after hearing that Irish-born New Zealand actor Sam Neill has died. It’s a loss I’m sure many will share. At times, news like this seems to come in droves, almost going in one ear and out the other, but this announcement stands out to me.
Probably best known for his roles in the Jurassic Park movies, Sir Nigel John Dermot “Sam” Neill managed to achieve a level in his work of actually being called and referred to as “legendary.” To me, he always seemed to lend a certain gravitas and presence to the films in which he played.
But it wasn’t just that — Sam Neill was funny and engaging, too. His delivery of that line, “Babies smell!”, in the first Jurassic Park was simply class. I bet if you’ve seen it, you’ll remember it. What a film! I consider that original Jurassic Park in particular as memorable, innovative, and standout a monster flick as any that ever was, and Sam Neill was a large part of that.
Sticking to what I know and what comes to mind, I also think of Event Horizon, a sci-fi/ horror flick from the late 1990s. It was totally over the top, to be honest, but somehow Sam Neill grounded the action as a leading man and made it gripping, tense, and frightening. He had many facets to his delivery and acting.
There was a depth and dimension to Mr. Neill. In a moment that revealed something of the personal life he lived, he once was asked in an interview toward the end of his life what was the most notable lesson he’d ever learned from his parents.
His parents were of a generation that lived through the Great Depression and had seen World War I, he explained. He described a time in his life while he was at university and became overwhelmed with all that was going on then. His mother told him, as he recalled, “Well, you’re just going to have to pull yourself together, aren’t you?”
Neill’s family posted the news of his death today on Instagram. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that characterized his whole life,” his family noted, calling his passing “sudden and unexpected” but blessed by being cancer-free.
The family asked for privacy, also saying that more details of Neill’s passing would be shared in the days to come. They described his loss as “immeasurable.”
Undoubtedly, I’m joined by many in remembering Sam Neill and feeling this loss. Farewell, sir, may you rest in peace. Thank you for all the memories!
I Do Not Like Mondays 
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