# ‘He Was Family’: Jimmy Barnes Reflects on Late Actor Sam Neill

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/he-was-family-jimmy-barnes-reflects-on-late-actor-sam-neill/
- Published: 2026-07-16T03:18:17+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-16T05:15:26+00:00
- Original publisher: Billboard
- Original article: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/jimmy-barnes-reflects-late-actor-sam-neill-1236295588/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment

## Key points

- Actor Sam Neill died aged 78 on 13 July in Sydney.
- Jimmy Barnes and other musicians paid emotional tribute to him.
- He'd beaten blood cancer but died after contracting pneumonia.

## Summary

Australian rock star Jimmy Barnes has paid tribute to actor Sam Neill, describing him as "family" following his death on 13 July at the age of 78. Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland and raised in New Zealand, became one of the most recognisable faces in film through roles in Jurassic Park, The Piano, Event Horizon, Dead Calm and Peaky Blinders, and the tributes from friends across music and politics reflect the breadth of his personal connections beyond acting.

Barnes, who holds a record 22 Australian No. 1 albums, recalled shared meals, wine and hospital visits with Neill, calling him "caring, funny, intelligent, charming, honest, talented". Fellow musicians including The Cruel Sea's Kenny Gormly and former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who spoke with Neill at the ARIA Hall of Fame ceremony in Sydney on 11 June, also shared warm recollections. Neill had previously overcome an advanced blood cancer, Stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, through CAR T-cell therapy and was cancer-free at the time of his death, but his weakened immune system meant he could not recover from pneumonia; his family confirmed his death occurred suddenly in Sydney.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.