Actor Sam Neill has said he is cancer-free after battling near-fatal non-Hodgkin lymphoma for over five years. The actor, best known for playing Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies, has said that he recovered even after chemotherapy stopped working for him.
Sam Neill is cancer-free
In a new TV interview in Australia, Sam Neill revealed he is cancer-free. Speaking with Australia’s Channel Seven News, the actor said that he was cured thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system. The actor recalled how his chemotherapy treatment eventually stopped working. “I was at a loss, and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal, obviously,” he said.
The actor added he was recently treated with CAR T-cell therapy, which uses a disabled virus to genetically reprogram human infection-fighting T-cells, enabling them to target specific cancers. “I’ve just had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body; that’s an extraordinary thing,” the 78-year-old said.
In his memoir published in 2023, Sam Neill revealed that he had been living with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma and was “possibly dying” with it.
What is CAR T-cell therapy?
CAR T-cell therapy (in full, Chimeric antigen receptor) is a new type of immunotherapy that has emerged as a revolutionary treatment for cancer. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it works by “turning T lymphocytes (T cells) into more efficient cancer-fighting machines.” In CAR T-cell therapy, a new gene is introduced into T cells, altering them so they can better detect and kill cancerous cells. According to studies, the therapy helps people with certain blood cancers live longer, and in some cases (like Sam Neill’s), it can even cure the disease.
After his cure, Sam Neill is now calling on Australian federal and state governments to fund CAR T-cell therapy for blood cancer patients across the country.
Sam Neill’s film career
Sam Neill, originally from New Zealand, began his acting career in the 1970s. He gained popularity after appearing in films like The Hunt for Red October and The Piano. He found mainstream success after starring in Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, a role he reprised in Jurassic Park 3 and two Jurassic World films more recently. In recent years, he has appeared in the hit Netflix series, Peaky Blinders.
