Sam Neill, the Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders actor who died on Monday 13 July at the age of 78, once opened up about reconnecting with his son Andrew a quarter of a century after placing him for adoption. In a rare 2014 interview with the Sunday Times, Neill described his family as “more extended than most,” offering a glimpse into a private life he otherwise kept largely out of the public eye.
Neill explained that Andrew was adopted when the actor’s eldest child was still very young, and when Neill himself was barely out of his teens. “I was quite small, too — in my early twenties,” he told the Sunday Times. “I didn’t see him for 25 years and then we went looking for each other.” According to Neill, both he and Andrew independently decided to search for one another before eventually finding their way back into each other’s lives.
A ‘grown-up’ reunion, not a tearful one
Rather than the emotional scenes often depicted in films, Neill described his reunion with Andrew as measured and unsentimental. “No one sobs in anyone’s arms; it’s much more grown-up,” he said, adding that most adoption reunions “are portrayed as sentimental and grisly,” but that there was “nothing sentimental” about his own experience with Andrew. Their relationship, he suggested, was built on getting to know one another rather than dramatic reconciliation.
An ‘unusual’ but close-knit family
Andrew was one of four children Neill went on to have. He welcomed his second son, Tim, in 1983 with actress Lisa Harrow, whom he met on the set of the 1981 film Omen III: The Final Conflict. Neill also had a daughter, Elena, with his ex-wife, Japanese make-up artist Noriko Watanabe, to whom he was married from 1989 to 2017. During that marriage, Neill also adopted Watanabe’s daughter, Maiko, from a previous relationship, always regarding her as part of his family.
Despite this large and, in his words, unusual family, Neill was notably private about his personal life throughout his career, rarely discussing his children or grandchildren publicly. One of the few exceptions came in 2021, when he shared the arrival of his grandson Nahlo on Instagram. “The Love. I don’t put family on media stuff. Except when they’re brand new. This is my brand new grandson Nahlo, the bestest boy, 2 weeks old,” Neill wrote alongside a photo of himself holding the newborn. “So chilled, no fuss. Just eats, sleeps and thinks about things. Parents blissed out, and everybody happy. Me particularly. The love.”
Finding joy — and reasons to stay — in family
Speaking to The Guardian in March 2023, Neill said watching his “lovely little grandchildren” grow up was among the reasons he would be “annoyed” if he died, even as he insisted he was “not afraid to die.” He later said that becoming a grandfather had brought some of the greatest joy of his life, and that watching his grandchildren grow gave him even more reason to value each day.
A sudden and unexpected death
Neill’s death came just two months after he confirmed he was cancer-free, having previously battled angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. His family announced the news in a statement, describing his passing as “sudden and unexpected.” “It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia,” the statement read, adding that he “passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life.” The family said further details would be shared in due course, and thanked the public for its outpouring of support while asking for privacy during their bereavement.
