Sam Neill assures fans that he is “alive and kicking” because his leukemia is in remission
“Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill reassured fans that he was “fine” after concerns about his health mounted since it was revealed he was being treated for cancer.
Neil revealed his battle with stage 3 leukemia in his upcoming memoir “Have I told you this before?”
The 75-year-old said he was soon diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, and underwent chemotherapy until he switched to a new drug he expected to take every month for the rest of his life.
“I’m alive and well and I’ve been in remission for about 8 months, and it feels really good,” he said in a video Subscriber on the platform Friday. “And I’m alive and I’m kicking and I’m going to work.”
Neil, who has been in remission for 8 months, said he would dive back into screen work within days alongside Annette Bening in the limited series ‘Apples Never Fall’.
“I’m so happy to be back in business,” Neil told his 542,000 followers. “Let’s not worry so much about ‘all of it’ because I’m fine. Well,” he concluded his video, citing concerns about his previous diagnosis.
Concerns about Neil’s health were overstated Friday after revealing an excerpt from his book.
“The thing is, I’m a fraud. He’s probably dying,” he wrote in the first chapter, which comes out on Tuesday. “I may have to speed this up.”
He said he never intended to write a memoir, but got down to it during therapy last year, realizing it “was kind of giving me a reason to live.”
“I found myself… I had nothing to do,” Neil explained Watchman In an interview published on Friday.
“And I’m used to working. I love working. I love going to work. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all that stuff. And all of a sudden I’m denied that. And I thought, ‘What am I going to do?'”
He is now cancer-free, Neal added, although he is dependent on his monthly chemotherapy medication.
The actor rose to international fame in 1993 with his role as Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park”.
He played the same character in the 2001 movie “Jurassic Park III” and the 2022 movie “Jurassic World Dominion.”
