Fellow actors and fans of Sam Neill mourned his passing after the actor died Monday following a diagnosis of a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Neill achieved his highest level of fame in “Jurassic Park” playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs. He co-starred alongside Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.
Neill earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries “Merlin” and another as narrator of 2017’s “Wild New Zealand.” Neill also earned three Golden Globe nods — for “Merlin,” “One Against the Wind” and “Reilly: Ace of Spies.”
Some notable reactions:
“Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.” — in a statement.
“Knew @samneilltheprop for 3 decades and finally worked with him on ‘PALM BEACH’ in 2018. An officer and a Gentleman in the truest sense. Guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my Life … Sail on, kind Sir. — via Instagram.
“Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors … RIP.” — in a statement.
“Sam was one of the greats, a joy to be around,” she said. “We met when I was just 18 and he took me under his wing and we stayed friends for life. He was charming, kind, funny and intelligent. He will be greatly missed, and my heart goes out to his family.” — in a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Sam Neill was a deeply soulful and beautiful man. He was a friend and collaborator at a challenging time, and his strength gave us all strength. I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters. It’s not every lifetime you get to befriend a legend. Forever grateful.” — via Instagram.
“Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats. He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today — one of our greatest cultural exports.” — via X.
“My condolences and appreciation for the immense joy and mastery Sam Neill brought our industry. Do yourself a favor and find ‘DEAN SPANLEY’ on a streamer- he’s wonderful and it will soothe someplace in your spirit that needs it now. — via Instagram.
“This man made me feel like I could fly. Even when I was all over the place in his presence he made it ok. We loved to talk rugby. RIP my old mate. Sam Neill, a true gentleman.” — via Instagram.
“Such a shock — loved by so many — I’ll be cracking two paddocks tonight,” referring to wine from the actor’s vineyard, via Instagram.
“Vale Sam,” a Latin term for “farewell” that’s often used in Australia and New Zealand, via Instagram.
“I love you, dear Sam. You hero. You legend. You sweetheart. Our great friend. You are already missed so very much. Continue in peace wherever you are.” — via Instagram.
“Sending love and condolences to your family. A remarkable man and artist. NZ loses a giant and one of its greatest gifts.” — via Instagram.
“It was the greatest of honours to shout at Sam onscreen and to laugh ourselves silly offscreen. He was truly the most wondrous human. Not was. Still is. Will always be. Such is his incredible legacy of life, art, advocacy and love.” — via Instagram.
FILE - Actor Sam Neill poses at the premiere of "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2016, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. announced a new round of strikes on Iran on Monday, hours after President Donald Trump said Washington is “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and, in a seeming policy reversal, will charge other ships for safe passage.
All of that comes as Iran has insisted it actually controls the critical waterway, and as the new exchange of fire threatened a return to all-out war.
U.S. Central Command announced on social media that the U.S. military had begun another round of strikes against Iran.
“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the U.S. military said.
The new round of attacks followed Trump telling conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, “We’re going to hit them very hard tonight and we’re going to hit them hard tomorrow — and there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.”
“They have nothing,” Trump added. “They have nothing going, other than they have big mouths.”
They followed the U.S. changing a policy that, until now, said the strait should remain open to all without tolls — as it was before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Any attempt by the U.S. or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and raise tensions, likely causing further economic disruption far beyond the region.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 7.8% to $81.92 a barrel on Monday, still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the war.
Trump also told Hewitt that the agreement reached last month was “built to test” Iran, adding that “when you’re dealing with sleazebags don’t mean much.”
Trump said he questioned why the U.S. was entering into a deal to create a ceasefire with Iran rather than moving toward a full deal first. Trump last week declared the ceasefire was “over.”
“They didn’t honor the test,” the president said.
Exchanges of fire in recent days, sparked by Iranian attacks on ships, had already cast further doubt on the interim peace deal. Washington had lifted a blockade it imposed in mid-April as part of that deal, which also called for the strait to be fully reopened.
“We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE,” Trump said on social media. “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”
The president said the U.S. would be “reimbursed” by 20% of the value of cargo to help cover “any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security.”
The U.S. military said it will resume its blockade of Iranian ports Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT.
Iran asserts it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and potentially charge fees in accordance with the interim peace deal. The U.S. has disputed that.
Iran on Monday vowed to fight back against any U.S. interference in the strait. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mocked Trump on social media and used his support for tolls to legitimize Iran's position.
“POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,” Araghchi wrote on X. “Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair.”
The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency overseeing international shipping, said it was waiting to find out more about Trump’s proposal but remained opposed to tolls for passage through international waterways.
“There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait,” it said in a statement.
Meeting with Gulf leaders late last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken forcefully against Iran charging fees for transit through the strait.
“That’s international waterway. There isn’t a nation on Earth that supports having to pay money to go through the straits,” Rubio told reporters in Bahrain on June 25.
Rubio also said there was “zero support among the Gulf countries for any sort of toll or fees or anything that charges for the use of international waters. The president’s made it clear that’s not going to happen.”
A fifth of the world’s oil and gas passed through the strait before Iran effectively shut it down at the start of the war, driving up global prices of energy, fertilizer and other goods. Traffic had picked up after last month's agreement but remained well below prewar levels.
The American military has tried to establish a route through the strait along the coast of Oman that would be outside of Iranian control. Iran has attacked ships using that route, saying the U.S. is violating the interim peace deal. The U.S. has attacked Iran in response, drawing Iranian attacks on U.S.-allied Arab states.
The U.S. military said it struck dozens of sites Monday, including air defense systems, radar sites, missile and drone equipment, and small boats in response to an Iranian attack on a container ship the day before. The U.S. said it used drone ships for the first time to hit an Iranian ship maintenance facility and submarine on Sunday.
Missile alert sirens sounded three times Monday in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. There was no immediate word on damage.
Separately, Kuwait's Foreign Ministry said its consulate in Iraq had been attacked. It did not immediately blame anyone for the attack or disclose damages or casualties.
The oil-rich kingdom — home to several U.S. military bases — also condemned Iran and “its factions and militias loyal to it in Iraq” for attacking what it described as “several border points” and a maritime oil drilling platform that belonged to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
In Jordan, the kingdom's military said it shot down four Iranian missiles in an incident that “resulted in zero casualties or material damage.” Jordan also hosts U.S. military forces and aircraft.
In Iran, authorities reported attacks in Hormozgan, Khuzestan and Markazi provinces and said at least two people were killed, according to state-run IRNA news agency. Semiofficial Iranian media also reported strikes in the eastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, which is on a coast of the Gulf of Oman.
Those attacks on Iran raised the possibility that Gulf Arab states were retaliating. There were unclaimed attacks on Iran on Thursday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei blamed Washington for the chaos gripping the region. He said Iran wouldn't agree to visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency to nuclear sites the U.S. bombed in 2025. That's where Tehran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium is believed to be entombed.
Trump suggested last week that the interim deal in the war was “over” and the U.S. ended waivers allowing Iran to sell crude oil on the open market in U.S. dollars. But mediators, including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt, have continued efforts to reach a final agreement to end the war.
Iran and the U.S. are nearly halfway through the 60-day period in which they were supposed to negotiate such an agreement, which was also supposed to address Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Mae Anderson in New York, Will Weissert and Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq, contributed to this report.
Residents check their cellphones as they sit at a cafe overlooking commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
People swim and spend time along the shore of the Strait of Hormuz, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
A woman stands at the water's edge along the Strait of Hormuz as a plume of smoke rises in the background following an explosion, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
Three boys play in the shallow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, as a plume of smoke rises from an explosion in the background, off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)
A group of people stands in shallow water as a cargo ship appears anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
Commercial vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
