Tears for Sam Neill: An interview question about his parents caused emotions for the “Jurassic Park” star, who is suffering from blood cancer.
During this interview, actor Sam Neill (76) was emotionally charged: The “Jurassic Park” star, who is currently battling blood cancer, answered questions from interviewers with autism. When asked what the “best lesson” he had learned from his parents was, the New Zealander burst into tears.
Interview question moves Sam Neill to tears
“Ugh, wow, that’s a really, really interesting question,” Neill said before his eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know why that question moved me so much, but it did.”
The 76-year-old explains: “My parents belonged to the generation that went through a lot. They experienced the Great Depression. My mother lost her father in World War I.” She grew up without a father. “They went through a lot, but they were very stoic people.”
“A hard lesson, but a good one”
The actor then tells of a time as a student when he hardly studied because he was too busy acting – and trying to find a girlfriend. Shortly before the exams, he panicked and confided in his mother.
“I said, ‘I think I’m having a breakdown and I’ve got exams in a couple of weeks and I don’t know what to do,'” Neill recalls. “She just looked at me and said, ‘Well, you’re just going to have to pull yourself together, aren’t you?'”
That was “the best lesson I learned from her,” says the actor. “Sometimes you just have to pull yourself together. It’s a hard lesson, but it’s a good one.”
Sam Neill was born in 1947 into a military family in Northern Ireland. His father Dermot was an army officer and a second-generation New Zealander. His mother Priscilla was English. In 1954 the family moved back to New Zealand.
Sam Neill on blood cancer
Sam Neill also spoke about his blood cancer and the “brutal” chemotherapy in the interview. The actor made the diagnosis public in his autobiography in March 2023. He changed the treatment “so I wouldn’t look like a bald thumb,” joked Neill. “That’s how I looked for a while – it was embarrassing, I lost my beard and everything, my dignity went with it.”
Most recently, Neill stated that his cancer is in remission, but he will require monthly chemotherapy for the rest of his life.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
