Earlier today, The Piano actor Sam Neill died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, at the age of 78. His family announced the death via Instagram without providing the cause of death.“It is with immense sadness that the whānau [family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free.”The statement continued:“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”In 1979, Sam Neill appeared in Gillian Armstrong’s debut feature film, My Brilliant Career, opposite Australian actress Judy Davis, 71. However, he later called her “very difficult” in a 2023 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald and said she was the only actress he would “never work with again.”“My Brilliant Career was one of my first major films. My co-star, Judy Davis, and I have done three films together. She is very difficult, and we have not spoken for 25 years. She is the only actress I will never work with again, which is extremely exceptional, as all the others have remained friends of one kind or other,” Neill explained.Sam is survived by his four children, Andrew, Tom, Elena, and Maiko, and multiple grandchildren. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostExploring Sam Neill’s opinion of Judy DavisBesides the Australian period drama, Sam Neill and Judy Davis also starred together in the 1991 TV Movie One Against the Wind and the 1996 black comedy Children of the Revolution. They also shared the same Sydney-based agent, Shanahan’s.In his 2023 memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? Sam Neill elaborated on his equation with Judy Davis. He explained falling a “little in love” with the actress when they first met in 1978. However, the feeling wasn’t reciprocated.Neill also explained they hadn’t spoken for nearly three decades and if they ever crossed paths, David would avoid him. In fact, on the sets of their last project together, Children of the Revolution, it was “predictably awkward as hell,” but he assured himself that as always, “it was worth it.”The memoir also revealed that Sam helped mediate on-set tension between Judy and the directors, producers, and other members of the cast and crew on several occasions as he believed in her “talent.”“Towards the end, I realized that for some reason she wasn’t talking to me. Not even ‘good morning’ in the make-up trailer. I’m often slow to realize these things, but I reluctantly came to understand that it really wasn’t worth it at all. Not at all. Her last faithful supporter iced. We have never spoken again. I sometimes spot her in a foyer, and I see her sharply look away. I have nothing to say to her anyway,” the actor explained.Judy Davis never addressed Sam Neill’s claims.The now-late actor-entrepreneur met his first wife, actress Lisa Harrow, on the sets of their 1981 film The Final Conflict. They welcomed a son, Tim, before divorcing. Neill married makeup artist Noriko Watanabe in 1989 and had a daughter, Elena, with her. They ended the relationship in 2017. Sam also adopted Watanabe’s daughter, Maiko, from her first marriage.Sam Neill’s eldest child is Andrew, whom he had in his 20s and gave up for adoption. They reunited in 1994. Between 2018 and 2021, the Jurassic Park star dated Australian political journalist Laura Tingle.