Sam Neill Was Full Of Praise For Co-Star Robin Williams In His Final Interview: 'A Phenomenon To Watch'

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Trigger warning: The following article contains references to suicide.

On July 13, 2026, Hollywood was rocked by the news that beloved actor Sam Neill, who was most widely known for his role in "Jurassic Park," had passed away. Though Sam Neill was 78 years old at the time of his death, and was open about his cancer diagnosis, the news still came as a shock. After all, the "Hunt for the Wilderpeople" star had been given the all clear mere months before his death (which was preceded by Neill being hospitalized for pneumonia). Not only that, but he has two movies coming out in 2027, and was actively doing press during the first half of 2026. With that in mind, Neill's final interview feels particularly poignant now, especially considering the fact that, in it, he not only reflected on his own career, but also took the time to extensively praise the late Robin Williams, another beloved star whose sudden death, in 2014, shocked and devastated the world.

In April 2026, The Guardian asked readers to submit questions for an upcoming interview with Neill. They then shared the results in the wake of the "Possession" star's death. One asked what it was like to work with Williams in the 1999 sci-fi film "Bicentennial Man." "I loved Robin dearly," he responded. "I hadn't seen the film in nearly 30 years, but it came up on Netflix the other day, so I looked at it out of curiosity. It's strange to see yourself as a much younger man whose hair they had to grey. More than anything, it reminded me how delightful Robin was." As Neill gushed, "His constant humor was almost an affliction — he couldn't help it. [...] It was a phenomenon to watch." Still, there was also a darkness to him.

Elsewhere in his responses to The Guardian's readers, Sam Neill offered his perspective on the tragic duality that, in many ways, has come to define Robin Williams' legacy in the years following his death by suicide in 2014. As the "Event Horizon" star remarked of his dearly-departed former co-star, "There was another side to him too. The explanations for his death never quite account for the terrible sadness he carried. You could sense it in quieter moments, just the two of us running our lines in the trailer. Then we'd step outside and he'd light up the party." Notably, this was not the first time Neill opened up about his experience working with Robin Williams, whose quiet struggles with mental health have been well documented in recent years. 

In the "Jurassic Park" star's 2023 memoir "Did I Ever Tell You This?" Neill described the comedian as being both the "funniest" and the "saddest" person he had ever met. "He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids — the world was his oyster. And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express. He was the loneliest man on a lonely planet," the beloved actor wrote. Nevertheless, as Neill noted, the "Jumanji" star never failed to make everyone in the vicinity burst into laughter. With that in mind, one thing the two actors undeniably shared was that they will be dearly missed by all. 

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