In May 2022, actor Sam Neill revealed he was diagnosed with the rare blood cancer angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and that chemotherapy was not working for him.
Neill switched to a different treatment, and his cancer has been in remission for about a year.
But, as he recently shared on Australian Story, the treatment will eventually stop working.
However, the actor noted:
“I’m prepared for that."
He added that while he is "annoyed" at the circumstances, he is not "remotely afraid."
You can watch the full episode below.
Why actor Sam Neill is not interested in his cancer | Australian Story youtu.be
Fans online were devastated by this update.
@DiscussingFilm No no noo. One of our greatest living actors, and one of those who can play an amazing villain almost as easily as a protagonist.— Jack (@Jack) 1697545072
@DiscussingFilm NOOOOOOOO— Galaxoica (@Galaxoica) 1697481559
@DiscussingFilm No words to describe how much I adore this great man. \ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffb\u2764\ufe0f— Paul-B Loves Movies (@Paul-B Loves Movies) 1697494245
@DiscussingFilm The guy who made my childhood even better.\ud83d\ude14— \ud83d\udc51KG\ud83d\udc51 (@\ud83d\udc51KG\ud83d\udc51) 1697527202
@DiscussingFilm He has always been one of my favorite actors. It has been a pleasure to just see him lose his mind on screen in films like Event Horizon and In The Mouth of Madness. He is such a brilliant actor. I wish him nothing but the best.— Andy Nix (@Andy Nix) 1697497056
@DiscussingFilm His name and work will live long in our hearts and minds— \u13b7\u13c6\u13a2\u13bb\u13a1\u13c6\u13a0\u13aa\u13a2\u13ac (@\u13b7\u13c6\u13a2\u13bb\u13a1\u13c6\u13a0\u13aa\u13a2\u13ac) 1697527239
Hearing this\u2026 it is heartbreaking, the man who we all loved. Is going through this\u2026 it\u2019s just unbelievable to see.\n\nThank you Sam neill, for being a awesome and wonderful person an actor. Thank you for inspiring me and many others, thank you so much— undeadkingthing (@undeadkingthing) 1697498984
Others commended Neill for his courage.
@DiscussingFilm Sam Neil is a top dude. The man gives me courage with his words, truly.— Cla\u00edomh Dubh (@Cla\u00edomh Dubh) 1697560206
@DiscussingFilm This is one of those moments I just want to sit and watch the sky\u2026\nI wish I was half as brave as this man.— Unknown (@Unknown) 1697491330
@DiscussingFilm Depressing as heck to hear this, but good for him not being afraid. He stronger than me, I'd be terrified— TheChickenNuggss18 (@TheChickenNuggss18) 1697563090
Sucks to hear but he's brave. It takes a lot of strength to be accepting of imminent death \ud83d\ude4f— Duhlorean (@Duhlorean) 1697481330
I admire his bravery. He really is Alan Grant.— Titanus (@Titanus) 1697490561
The actor said retirement is "completely out of the question," and his experience has forced him to face his future.
He realized he wanted to document his memories for his children and grandchildren.
“I started to look at my life and realize how immensely grateful I am for so much of it."
“I started to think I better write some of this down because I’m not sure how long I have to live. I was running against the clock."
Neill began working on a new memoir which will be titled Did I Ever Tell You This?
As he started writing, Neill recognized how fortunate he is to have a career with such longevity.
“I can‘t tell you how privileged I am to spend that amount of time with so many actors, so many of whom I’ve really enjoyed and so many of whom I’ve really admired.”
He also said he'd love to spend more time with his grandchildren, but that's the only part that bothers him..
“I’d really like another decade or two, you know?”
“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.”
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