The official Instagram account of actor Sam Neill announced that the actor died on Monday in Sydney, Australia. He was 78. 

The announcement stated that Neill’s death was sudden and unexpected, but that he had remained cancer free. The announcement added that more details will be shared at a later date. 

Neill revealed in his Did I Ever Tell You About This? memoir in 2023 that he had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. He recently announced in April that he was cancer free, after participating in a clinical trial for a new type of therapy called CAR-T therapy, aimed at his particular lymphoma. Before the clinical trial, Neill had been on chemotherapy for years, and at some point, the chemotherapy stopped working.

Neill was born on September 14, 1947 in Northern Ireland, and moved to New Zealand with his family in 1954. He got his breakout role in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, which was the first New Zealand film to open in the U.S. This was followed with lead roles in films such as My Brilliant Career, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession, Evil Angels, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano, In The Mouth of Madness, and Event Horizon. He gained international popularity with his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the 1993 Jurassic Park film, a role he reprised in the 2001 Jurassic Park III, and 2022 Jurassic World Dominion films. 

He also had roles in television series such as Peaky Blinders and Reilly, Ace of Spies.

In April 2025, it was reported that Neill had joined the cast of Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, the planned sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the newest part of Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment‘s “Monsterverse” franchise. Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is scheduled for release on March 26, 2027.

Sources: Sam Neill‘s Instagram account, The Guardian (Sian Cain)

Production company Kadokawa opened an official website for a television anime adaptation of Enma Akiyama‘s Noa-senpai wa Tomodachi (Noa Is My Senior, and My Friend) manga on Monday, revealing the main staff and a teaser visual (pictured right). Akiyama also drew an illustration to commemorate the announcement (pictured above).

Staff

Director: Shinsuke Yanagi (Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun, Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta)

Series Composition: Keiichirou Oochi (5-toubun no Hanayome, Kanojo mo Kanojo)

Character Design: Yumiko Yamamoto (Shichisei no Subaru, Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld)

Studio: feel.

Akiyama began publishing the comedy manga in Weekly Young Jump magazine in July 2023. Shueisha was released the tenth volume on April 17, with the 11th volume scheduled for a July 17 release. The series has a cumulative 1 million copies of its volumes in print.

A promotional video was released to commemorate the release of the first volume in October 2023. It features voice actors Mayu Yoshioka (Wake Up, Girls!) and Kengo Kawanishi (3-Gatsu no Lion) as Noa Saotome and Rihito Ootsuka, respectively.

The series was nominated in the 10th Next Manga Awards and came 8th in the print category.

Synopsis:

Noa Saotome is an art director at a gaming company. Highly trusted by her boss and admired by her juniors for her work ethic, she is the definition of a successful, high-flying career woman. But in reality, she’s hiding a completely different side.

Rihito Otsuka, a second-year employee whose life motto is energy conservation, accidentally catches a glimpse of the secret side Noa keeps fiercely hidden from the world. That chance encounter sparks an after-hours friendship between the two.

Can a genuine bond truly form between a burnt-out career woman and a detached, low-energy guy?!

Official site: https://noasenpai-anime.com/

Official X: @noasenpai_anime

Source: animate Times

Noa-senpai wa Tomodachi on MAL