Sam Neill stated that he has “never felt better” after receiving the news that his blood cancer had been in remission for several months.
Born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the 75-year-old New Zealand actor is best remembered for his portrayal as palaeontologist Alan Grant in the science fiction film series Jurassic Park.
In an interview about his book Did I Ever Tell You This?, he stated that he initially had swollen glands in March of last year while promoting Jurassic World: Dominion.
This is the third film in the franchise in which he has starred, following 1993’s Jurassic Park and 2001’s Jurassic Park III.
The Guardian reported on Friday that Sam took a hiatus from acting after being diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Sunday on The Michael Ball Show on Radio 2, he was asked how he is doing and responded, “Oh, I’m fine, you know, I’ve been in remission for about seven or eight months, I’m back at work, and I’ve never felt better.”
The star added: ‘I sort of approached the year as really being a bit of an adventure…(as) I didn’t know what was (going to) happen.
‘A bit of a dark adventure but here we are on the other side, and I’m very optimistic and full of life and I’m so happy to be back at work, I can’t tell you’.
According to Sam’s memoir, he received chemotherapy that began to fail before taking a new chemotherapy medicine that he will take monthly for the rest of his life despite being cancer-free.
Nonetheless, the actor has stated that it is not a book about cancer, but rather a compilation of life experiences.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in the 1980s series Reilly, Ace Of Spies and an Emmy for his portrayal as the title character in 1998’s Merlin, starring Fight Club actress Helena Bonham Carter and Darth Vader voice actor James Earl Jones.
Sam also acted in The Piano, which won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 1993, and as Major Chester Campbell in the BBC crime thriller Peaky Blinders opposite Cillian Murphy.
The Hollywood actor described his career as a “wonderful surprise” that continues with his most recent role in the forthcoming series Apples Never Fall, based on a novel by Liane Moriarty and starring Annette Bening from American Beauty.
‘I think I have been extremely blessed because it wasn’t something I sought’, he added. ‘It just sort of happened by degrees and surprise followed surprise’.
In addition, he stated that the seven-part series “may be rather great,” but he never counts his chickens before they hatch.
Liane, 56, is also the author of Big Little Lies, which was made into a popular HBO series starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon of The Hours and Legally Blonde, respectively.
Did I Ever Tell You This? by Neill is on sale from March 23 according to Waterstones.
Source My Celebrity Life.
