Tributes have been pouring in for Northern Ireland-born New Zealand actor Sam Neill following his death on Monday, with Irish star Cillian Murphy leading the way.

Sam, who died in Sydney, Australia, was best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park but starred alongside Cillian in the first two seasons of Peaky Blinders.

Remembering his co-star, Cillian described Sam as ‘one of the finest actors’ whom he ‘admired and adored’.

He said: ‘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.’

Sam played the sadistic, corrupt senior police officer Major Chester Campbell in the first two seasons of the show, opposite Cillian’s notorious gang leader Tommy Shelby.

The show’s official page posted a tribute which said: ‘Sam was one of the key forces that got Peaky Blinders off to a running start, for which we will be forever grateful.’

Joe Cole, another of Sam’s Peaky Blinders co-stars, also posted on Instagram: ‘Rest in peace big dog.’

Sam’s Jurassic Park co-stars, including Laura Dern, who played paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, and Jeff Goldblum, shared their own tributes.

Laura remembered Sam as a ‘true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man’ who was a ‘beloved lifetime friend.’

She said: ‘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.’

Jeff posted a string of photographs from the hit 1993 film, including shots of him, Sam and Laura. He said: ‘The next great adventure begins. Love, always and forever.’

In a statement on his production company Amblin Entertainment’s Instagram page, Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg said: ‘Sam was exceptionally collaborative.

‘It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. 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.’

Sam announced in April 2026 that he was cancer-free after treatment, three years after saying he had a ‘ferocious’ and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

A statement on Instagram announcing Sam’s death said: ‘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.’

Other tributes to Sam include ones from Richard E Grant, his Palm Beach co-star, who wrote on Instagram that Sam was an ‘officer and a gentleman in the truest sense’ who ‘helped me through a very difficult time in my life.’

Fellow New Zealand actor Karl Urban, best known for starring in The Boys, called Sam ‘an inspiration for many who followed in his trailblazing footsteps.’

Daisy Ridley, who stars with Sam in the as-yet-unreleased film The Last Resort, posted a photo of herself with Neill on Instagram with several broken heart emojis.

Sam lived on a farm and winery called Two Paddocks in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. He established the winery in 1993, next door to his friend, Roger Donaldson, the director of Sleeping Dogs.

Sam most recently starred in the TV series The Twelve, Apples Never Fall and Untamed, and two films to be released next year, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort.

He leaves four children and eight grandchildren.