by Sam Neill said he’s “never felt better” after revealing he’s been in remission from blood cancer for several months.
The 75-year-old New Zealand actor, who was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, is best known for his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the sci-fi film series Jurassic Park.
In an interview about her book, Did I Ever Tell You This?, she said she first experienced swollen glands during a Jurassic World Dominion commercial in March of last year.
This is the third film in the series, about cloning dinosaurs, in which he acted after the first film Jurassic Park in 1993 and Jurassic Park III in 2001.
Neill has taken a break from acting following his diagnosis with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the Guardian said on Friday.
He was asked on Radio 2’s The Michael Ball Show on Sunday about how he’s doing and he said, “Well, I’m great, you know, I’ve been about seven or eight months in remission and I’m back to work, and I’ve never felt better. .
He added: “I approached the year like it was really a bit of an adventure…(since) 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.”
He reportedly discusses in his memoir receiving chemotherapy, which started failing, before taking a new chemotherapy drug which he will take monthly for the rest of his life, despite now being cancer free.
However, Neill said it’s not a book about cancer but a collection of stories about his life.
He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the 1980s series Reilly, Ace Of Spies and an Emmy as the titular magician in 1998’s Merlin with Fight Club actress Helena Bonham Carter and Star Wars voice actor James Earl Jones, known for playing Darth Vader.
Neill also starred in the period drama The Piano, which won Best Original Screenplay at the 1993 Academy Awards, and as Major Chester Campbell in the BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders opposite Cillian Murphy.
The Hollywood actor said his career was a “big surprise” that continued when he landed his most recent part in the upcoming series Apples Never Fall, based on a novel by Liane Moriarty and starring American Beauty actress Annette Bening.
“I think I was extremely blessed because it wasn’t something I was looking for,” he added. “It just happened in stages and surprise followed surprise.”
She also said the seven-part show “could be really wonderful,” but she never counts her chickens before they’re hatched.
Australian author Moriarty, 56, also wrote Big Little Lies, which was adapted into a hit HBO series starring The Hours actress Nicole Kidman and Legally Blonde star Reese Witherspoon.
Did I ever tell you? by Neill has been on sale since March 23 according to Waterstones.
