Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill has revealed that he had stage three cancer, after a heartbreaking diagnosis.
The 75-year-old actor is most famous for his role as Alan Grant, in the classic nineties film which sees dinosaurs come to life.
Having received the dreadful prognosis, the actor has since written about the condition in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?
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Though most of us would be devastated by the news, the Tudors actor made light of his life-treating illness.
In the third chapter of his recently released book, he joked: “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up.”
Though he'd never intended to write a full memoir, Neill felt that it gave him a sense of purpose whilst he endured treatment for his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
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During a recent interview with The Guardian, he reflected on his writing process and how it 'entertained' him.
"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," he said, adding that he felt 'deprived' when he was able to return to set.
The New Zealander actor also revealed he'd first noticed something was wrong during the press tour for Jurassic Park: World Dominion last year.
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After realising that he had swollen glands, he sought out a diagnosis which confirmed his stage three cancer.
Almost immediately, Neill threw himself into writing.
“I never had any intention to write a book," he admitted, adding: "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."
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He also revealed that the book had become a 'lifesaver', saying that he would have struggled to cope without writing.
However, he admitted that the had been plenty of 'dark moments', including the chemotherapy being unsuccessful.
“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” he told the paper: “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive.”
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Neill is now cancer-free, thanks to a new chemotherapy drug which he will remain on indefinitely.
Topics: Celebrity, Health, TV And Film
Katherine Sidnell