Sam Neill admits he had no idea how long he had to live amid cancer battle

21 May 2023

Sam Neill “didn’t know” how long he had to live amid his cancer battle.

Sam Neill ‘didn’t know’ how long he had to live amid his cancer battle

The ‘Jurassic Park’ actor, 75, fought stage three blood cancer last year, which he revealed in his memoir 'Did I Ever Tell You This?’, and it was his fight against the disease that inspired him to pen his life story because he wanted to share his memories with his children.

Dad-of-four Sam also admitted he penned the tome “hurriedly” because he had no idea if he’d live long enough to finish it.

He told Empire magazine: “When I sat down, I wasn’t intending to write a book.

“I just had to find something to do to fill my time, while undergoing this initial burst of chemotherapy.

“I was really just writing stories for my children, and it wasn’t until I had maybe 40,000 words under my belt that I thought, ‘Maybe I do have a book in me.’

“I was writing hurriedly because, frankly, I didn’t know how long I had to live.

“And I finished it in about four months, writing pretty much every day.

“I started it exactly a year ago, and now it’s a three-dimensional book that smells of the printing press. I wouldn’t have anticipated any of that a year ago.”

Sam added he was “very touched” by the outpouring of love he received when news broke of his cancer diagnosis, but he admitted it was frustrating that reports of his battle with the disease failed to mention he was in remission.

He said: “Completely took me by surprise. I was very touched by all of that.

“The first thing was that it was blowing up as a headline.

“I think it was a very slow news day, because I was everywhere suddenly.

“I didn’t think anyone would be particularly interested, but that blew up, that cancer thing, and a lot of the headlines mentioned The Big C, but none said, ‘He’s OK now!’

“Which would have been handy because I’ve spent a lot of time going, ‘Look! Don’t worry! I’m in remission! Everything’s fine, touch wood.’

“The headline should have said, ‘Relax, he’s fine’, but no one would have clicked on that.”