Sam Neill has revealed the 'brutal' chemotherapy treatment he underwent after being diagnosed with stage-three blood cancer. The 76-year-old Jurassic Park star shared his experience on the debut episode of the forthcoming ABC series, The Assembly.
Speaking to a group of autistic journalism students, Neill described the physical toll of the treatment: 'I'm on a different one now, so at least I don't look like somebody's bald thumb. That's what I looked like for quite a while — it was embarrassing, and I lost my beard and everything, and my dignity went with it.'
Neill was diagnosed in 2022 during his first trip back to New Zealand after two years of lockdowns. His son Tim recalled the moment they received the news: 'When he hung the phone up and we sat down, and we had a little bit of a cry together. It was supposed to be a happy day.'
The actor said he was 'in really a fight for my life' and underwent three to four months of conventional chemotherapy, which he described as 'brutal'. Tim was shocked when he saw his father during treatment: 'I was shocked, and I broke down and I could barely hug him. He was just, you know, bones and skin.'
After the cancer returned more seriously, Neill was placed on an experimental drug that has kept him in remission for nearly two years. He now receives infusions every two weeks, which he calls 'very grim and depressing', and acknowledges the treatment may eventually stop working. 'I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it. It's out of my control,' he said.
