Sam Neill has insisted that he is not afraid of dying, as he is battling stage three blood cancer.
The Jurassic Park star however said Australian Story that he would be ‘annoyed’ if he died soon, as his recent round of chemotherapy had failed.
“I am not afraid of death in any way.” That doesn’t worry me. It never worried me from the beginning, but I would have been annoyed,” said the 76-year-old.
“I would be annoyed because there are things I still want to do.” Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of that.’
Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to his cancer drug, but admits he is “prepared” for the fact that it will eventually stop working.
Sam Neill (pictured) insists he is not afraid of dying as he battles stage three blood cancer
“I know I do, but I don’t really care.” It’s out of my control. “If you can’t control it, don’t get into it,” he said of the disease.
Sam first revealed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Told You This, where he says in the first chapter that he is “probably dying”.
In an interview with Guardian, the actor said, “The thing is, I’m a thief. I may have to speed this up. I found myself with nothing to do.
“And I’m used to working.” I like to work. I like going to work. I like to be with people every day and I enjoy human company and friendship and all these things. And suddenly I was deprived of it. And I thought, ‘What should I do?’
The Jurassic Park star told Australian Story he would be “gutted” if he died soon after his recent round of chemotherapy failed
“I am not afraid of death in any way.” That doesn’t worry me. It never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,” said the 76-year-old.
Neill also said BBC that he had a ‘ferocious type of aggressive’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He began writing his memoirs as a distraction and to “give me a reason to get through the day.”
The book looks back at the New Zealand actor’s 50-year career on screen, as well as his sudden illness.
Neil revealed he sought medical attention after noticing he had lumpy glands on his neck while on tour for Jurassic World Dominion last year.
The piano star remained calm when doctors told him his diagnosis, and he immediately began planning to write the book of his life.
“I would be annoyed because there are things I still want to do.” Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of that,” he added
Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to his cancer drug, but admits he is “prepared” for the fact that it will eventually stop working
‘I thought I had to do something, and I thought, ‘Should I start writing?’ he told the BBC.
“I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories.” And I found it all fascinating.
“A year later, not only did I write the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter – but it came out in record time,” he said proudly.
And about the literary work, he also said that he “never intended to write a book.”
Sam explained: ‘But as I continued to write, I realized that it actually gave me a reason to live and I’d go to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about it tomorrow… it’ll entertain me.’
“And so that was really a lifesaver, because I couldn’t go through it without any commitments, you know.”
Sam first revealed news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Told You This, where he says in the first chapter that he is “probably dying”
Sam’s specific disease was diagnosed as T-cell angioimmunoblastic lymphoma.
He is now in remission but will be on medication for the rest of his life.
According to Lymphoma.org AITL is “a rare, often, but not always, aggressive form of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).’
Statistically, this specific type of blood cancer accounts for only one to two percent of all NHL cases in the United States.
The site also notes that older patients are more likely to be diagnosed.
Symptoms can include high fever, night sweats, skin rashes and autoimmune disorders.
Sam, Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards are pictured in the original 1993 Jurassic Park.
Reflecting on life, the seasoned actor admitted, “I’m not afraid to die. But that would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know?
“We’ve built all these wonderful terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypress trees, and I want to be there to see it all come to fruition.” And I have my wonderful little grandchildren. I want to see them grow up.
“But as for the dying? I didn’t care.’
The star was married to Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989-2017 and they share two children – Elena (32) and Tim (40).
Sam’s most notable role is Dr. Alan Grant, who he played in the Jurassic World franchise, most recently in last year’s third installment.
Sam and partner Laura Dern are pictured in a photo from Jurassic Park: Dominion
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill, 76, says he’s ‘not afraid of dying’ as chemo fails amid cancer battle
