Actor Sam Neill shared an update on his battle with health after revealing he is living with blood cancer.
The 75-year-old told BBC News and The Guardian that he was diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma while on the promotional tour for the latest Jurassic Park film, Jurassic Park: Dominion.
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Taking to Instagram on Saturday, Neil said he was “alive and well” and was returning to work soon.
“I’m alive and well and in remission for eight months, which feels really good,” he said in the video.
“I’m very happy to be back at work.
“We start shooting in seven days. I’m doing something called Apples Never Fall with Annette Bening and a really wonderful cast, so here I am.”
‘What will I do?’
Neil has spoken candidly about his battle with cancer in his new book Did I Ever Tell You This?, revealing that he is still undergoing treatment and will be for the rest of his life.
During the publicity tour, Neil noticed lumps on his neck and said that when doctors told him he had cancer, the diagnosis made him “look at things”.
He said that writing his book Did I Ever Tell You This? helped him cope.
“I found myself with nothing to do,” Neill said in an interview with The Guardian.
“And I’m used to working. I love to work. I love going to work. I love to be with people every day and enjoy human company, friendship and all those things.
“And suddenly I was deprived of it. And I thought, “What am I going to do?”
“I never intended to write a book. But as I continued to write, I realized that it actually gave me a reason to live, and I went to bed thinking, “I’ll write about this tomorrow…this will entertain me.”
“So it was really a lifesaver because I couldn’t have gotten through it without doing anything, you know.
“I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write a few stories. And I find it increasingly fascinating.
He said the book came out in record time despite not using a ghostwriter.
“The thing is, I’m a crook. Probably dying,” he writes in the first chapter.
“I might have to speed this up.”
Neill told The Guardian that he initially received chemotherapy but was switched to a new drug when the initial treatment failed.
He said he is in remission, although he will have to take the drug for the rest of his life.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a relatively rare cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.
Neil has starred in more than 70 films, working alongside actors including Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.
His Hollywood roles include his portrayal of Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films and as a tough Irish cop in Peaky Blinders.
He also appeared in The Hunt for Red October, Event Horizon and The Piano.
He auditioned for the role of James Bond in the 1980s at the insistence of a pushy agent, but was reluctant to pursue it, worried that it would look like 007 would choose him.
His Australian work includes The Dish, with filming soon to begin on the TV adaptation of Apples Never Fall, based on Liane Moriarty’s bestseller.