Sam Neill has insisted that he is not afraid of dying as he battles stage-three blood cancer.

The Jurassic Park star told Australian Story that chemotherapy failed to work, leaving him in a ‘fight for life’ – but that a new experimental drug is now working at fighting off the disease.

Despite the promising news, the 76-year-old knows it won’t last forever. He’s been told by his doctors that one day the drug will stop working – which he says he is ‘prepared for’.

‘I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,’ the 76-year-old said.

‘I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of it.’

Neill also shared pictures from his time undergoing chemotherapy, with the actor hard to recognise without his salt-and-pepper hair and beard.

‘There were times in the last year where I had to look at myself in the mirror and I wasn’t a pretty sight,’ he told the ABC. ‘I was stripped of any kind of dignity.’

Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is 'prepared' for the fact that it will eventually stop working. Pictured

Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is 'prepared' for the fact that it will eventually stop working. Pictured

Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for the fact that it will eventually stop working. Pictured

'I'm not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn't worry me. It's never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,' the 76-year-old said. Pictured with son Tim Neill-Harrow

'I'm not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn't worry me. It's never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,' the 76-year-old said. Pictured with son Tim Neill-Harrow

‘I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed,’ the 76-year-old said. Pictured with son Tim Neill-Harrow

Neill said he found out last year that he had cancer during his first trip back to New Zealand after lockdowns made returning home to see his family virtually impossible for two years.

His son Tim told Australian Story that his dad had been back in New Zealand for barely an hour when a doctor phoned with the awful news that he had cancer.

‘When he hung the phone up and we sat down, and we had a little bit of a cry together. It was supposed to be a happy day. He didn’t get to stay,’ Tim said.

Sam continued: ‘I was in really a fight for my life. And everything was a new world and a rather alarming world.

‘I had three or four months of reasonably conventional chemotherapies which are, brutal.’

Tim went to visit his dad as he underwent chemotherapy and was horrified when he saw how weak he was. 

‘I was shocked, and I broke down and I could barely hug him. He was just, you know, bones and skin. And then he was giving me a hard time for being upset about it and saying I was stressing him out, but I was going, “What are you talking about, Dad?”‘

Just when they thought Neill’s health might be improving, he received even worse news: The cancer was back and it was more serious this time.

‘I didn’t know really how long I had to live,’ the actor said. ‘And I thought, yeah, I should probably write something down for my children, my grandchildren, because I may not be here in a couple of months and it would be good for them to have a sense of me, you know, and and some of the things that I’ve done.’

The Jurassic Park star told TV show Australian Story he will be 'annoyed' if he dies soon

The Jurassic Park star told TV show Australian Story he will be 'annoyed' if he dies soon

The Jurassic Park star told TV show Australian Story he will be ‘annoyed’ if he dies soon

'There were times in the last year where I had to look at myself in the mirror and I wasn't a pretty sight,' he told the ABC. 'I was stripped of any kind of dignity.'

'There were times in the last year where I had to look at myself in the mirror and I wasn't a pretty sight,' he told the ABC. 'I was stripped of any kind of dignity.'

‘There were times in the last year where I had to look at myself in the mirror and I wasn’t a pretty sight,’ he told the ABC. ‘I was stripped of any kind of dignity.’

Neill first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is ‘possibly dying’.

In an interview with The Guardian, the actor said: ‘The thing is, I’m crook. I may have to speed this up. I found myself with nothing to do.

‘And I’m used to working. I love working. I love going to work. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all these things. And suddenly I was deprived of that. And I thought, ‘What am I going to do?”

Neill also told the BBC that he began writing his memoir as a distraction and to ‘give me a reason to get through the day’.

The book looks back on the New Zealand actor’s 50-year career on screen, as well as his sudden illness.

‘I thought I need to do something, and I thought, “Shall I start writing?”‘ he told the BBC.

Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is 'prepared' for the fact that it will eventually stop working

Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is 'prepared' for the fact that it will eventually stop working

 Sam has been in remission for 12 months thanks to an anti-cancer drug, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for the fact that it will eventually stop working

‘I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories. And I found it increasingly engrossing.

‘A year later, not only have I written the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter – but it’s come out in record time,’ he said proudly.

And about the literary effort he also said he ‘never had any intention to write a book’.

Sam explained, ‘But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live and I would go to bed thinking, “I’ll write about that tomorrow… that will entertain me.”‘

‘And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know.’

'I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it. It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it,' he said of the disease

'I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it. It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it,' he said of the disease

‘I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it. It’s out of my control. If you can’t control it, don’t get into it,’ he said of the disease 

Sam first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is 'possibly dying'

Sam first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is 'possibly dying'

Sam first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is ‘possibly dying’

Neill was eventually put on an experimental cancer drug, which thankfully started to work.  

He has been in remission for 12 months now, but admits he is ‘prepared’ for the fact that it will eventually stop working. 

‘I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it. It’s out of my control. If you can’t control it, don’t get into it,’ he said of the disease. 

Sam’s specific ailment was diagnosed as angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

Symptoms can include having a high fever, night sweats, skin rash, and autoimmune disorders.

Sam, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards are pictured in 1993's Jurassic Park

Sam, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards are pictured in 1993's Jurassic Park

Sam, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards are pictured in 1993’s Jurassic Park

Reflecting on life, the seasoned actor admitted, ‘I’m not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know? 

‘We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.

‘But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.’ 

The star was married to Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989-2017 and they share two kids – Elena, 32, and Tim, 40.

Sam’s most notable role is Dr. Alan Grant, who he portrayed in the Jurassic World franchise most recently in last year’s third installment.

Sam and co-star Laura Dern are pictured in a still from Jurassic Park: Dominion

Sam and co-star Laura Dern are pictured in a still from Jurassic Park: Dominion

Sam and co-star Laura Dern are pictured in a still from Jurassic Park: Dominion

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