The father of four died on July 13 at the age of 78.

How Jurassic Park star Sam Neill reunited with his eldest child 25 years after putting him up for adoption

The father of four died on July 13 at the age of 78.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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July 13, 2026 5:01 p.m. ET

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Sam Neill. Credit: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

- Sam Neill reconnected with the son he put up for adoption years before his death.

- The *Jurassic Park *star — who was a father of four and grandfather to eight — welcomed his first child in his early 20s.

- After 25 years apart, they “went looking for each other” and came together for a long-awaited reunion.

Sam Neill was able to reconnect with his son years before his death.

The* Jurassic Park *star, who died on July 13 at the age of 78, once described his family as “slightly unusual.” The remark was made during a 2014 interview with *The Sunday Times*, which saw the New Zealand-born performer, who was typically private about his family life, reflect on his relationship with his kids — including the son that he put up for adoption when the actor was in his 20s.

Neill explained that he believed himself too young for fatherhood when his son was first born. “My first son, Andrew, was given up for adoption when he was very small,” Neill shared. “I was quite small, too — in my early twenties.”

Neill ultimately was not in his son’s life until Andrew reached his own mid-20s.

Sam Neill in ‘Event Horizon’.

Paramount Pictures

“I didn’t see him for 25 years,” Neill said. “And then we went looking for each other.”

Though he kept the details of the weighty meeting to himself, Neill noted that it was more grounded than people might expect.

“These reunions are portrayed as sentimental and grisly, but there is nothing sentimental about it. No one sobs in anyone’s arms; it’s much more grown-up,” he said.

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Neill eventually became a father of four. He welcomed another son, Tim, with his *Omen III* costar and ex wife Lisa Harrow in 1983. Neill went on to marry Noriko Watanabe and adopted her daughter Maiko, from a prior relationship. The couple later welcomed daughter Elena in 1991. Neill and Watanabe ultimately separated in 2017.

Neill, who was also a grandfather of eight, previously told ABC that his family life is best described as “haphazard.”

He explained, “Probably a lot of my parenting has been marked by absence for one reason or another, not the least of them being that my job entails travel a lot.”

Sam Neill and ex wife Noriko Watanabe.

Dave M. Benett/Getty

While he didn’t have any parenting tips to offer himself in retrospect, Neill also noted, “I’m not going to beat myself up about it.”

The feature also saw his son Tim chime in: “There are worse things a dad can do than be off working,” he said, adding of Neill, “He is a good dad.”

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Neill’s family announced the actor’s “sudden and unexpected” death with an emotional statement. “It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia,” they began. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life.”

The announcement came nearly three months after Neill said he was in remission following a years-long cancer journey.

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