Following the news that Sam Neill has been battling stage-three blood cancer, the Jurassic Park star is setting the record straight about his current health condition.
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In a lengthy video post on Instagram, Sam Neill reassured fans that he’s doing ok after the cancer fight. “My news seems to be all over the news at the moment,” he stated in the video. “And it’s sort of ‘Cancer! Cancer! Cancer!’ Which is slightly tiresome because, as you see, I am alive and well.”
Neill also shared that he has been in remission from cancer for eight months and he feels good. “And I’m alive and kicking, and I’m going back to work,” he continued. The actor then said that he lost his hair during cancer treatments and “more than anything” wanted to grow back his beard. He also said that he’s very happy to be going back to work as he prepares to start his latest project, a film called Apples Never Fall with Annette Benning.
Sam Neill notably wrote about his cancer diagnosis in his recent memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? He stated that he found out about the cancer in March 2022. Upon hearing his diagnosis, Neill told BBC, “I thought I need to do something, and I thought, ‘Shall I start writing?’ I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories. And I found it increasingly engrossing. A year later, not only have I written the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter. But it’s come out in record time.”
Sam Neill Said He Didn’t Mean to Write the Memoir and Used Writing to Help Him Cope With Cancer
Along with clearing the air about his cancer diagnosis, Sam Neill shared why he decided to write his latest memoir to begin with.
“I didn’t really mean to write a book,” the Jurassic Park star declared. “I needed something to do while I suddenly couldn’t go to work. So that’s why I wrote the book, and I have to say there’s been a great response to it. People seem to love it, which is great.”
Sam Neill admitted that he was very nervous to write the memoir, as it was the first time he ever authored a book. He did not that he and his publisher sub-titled the book Movies, Life, Love, and Other Catastrophes.
“So it gives you an idea of all the crazy things that have happened to me,” Neill explained. “The tone of the book is one of surprise. I never thought that I would have a career as an actor, let alone an actor on screen.”
