Actor Sam Neill reveals blood cancer diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in new memoir

Actor Sam Neill has shared an update on his health struggle 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 during the promotional tour for the latest Jurassic Park film Jurassic Park: Dominion.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sam Neill returns to work after health update.

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Neill took to Instagram on Saturday and said he was “alive and alive” and would be back at work soon.

“I’m alive and well and I’ve been in remission for eight months, which feels really good,” he said in the video.

“I am very happy to be able to work again.

“We start shooting in seven days. I’m doing a thing called Apple’s Never Fall with Annette Bening and a really wonderful cast, so here I am.”

‘What should I do?’

Neill, in his new book, Did I Ever Tell You This? Wrote openly about his battle with cancer, revealing he is still undergoing treatment and will be for the rest of his life.

During the promotional tour, Neill noticed clogged glands in his throat and said when doctors told him he had cancer, the diagnosis prompted him to “take stock of things”.

He said writing his book, Have I Ever Told You That? helped him cope.

“I had nothing to do,” Neill said in an interview with The Guardian.

“And I’m used to working. i love working I like going to work. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all those things.

“And all of a sudden I was denied that. And I thought, ‘What should I do?’

“I never intended to write a book. But as I went on and kept writing, I realized that it actually gave me some kind of reason to live, and I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’m going to write about this tomorrow… this will entertain me.’

“And so it was really a lifesaver because I couldn’t have gotten through this without doing something, you know.

“I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories. And I found it increasingly captivating.”

He said the book came out in record time, even though he didn’t use a ghostwriter.

“The thing is, I’m a crook. Possibly die,” he wrote in chapter one.

“Maybe I need to speed this up.”

Neill told The Guardian he initially received chemotherapy but switched to a new drug when initial treatment failed.

He said he was in remission despite having to take the drug for the rest of his life.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a relatively rare cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.

Neill has appeared in more than 70 films and has worked with actors such as Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum.

His Hollywood roles include his portrayal of Dr. Allan Grant in the Jurassic Park films and as a badass Irish cop in Peaky Blinders.

He also starred in The Hunt for Red October, Event Horizon and The Piano.

He auditioned for the role of James Bond in the 1980s at the urging of a pushy agent, but was reluctant to pursue it, concerned that appearing as 007 would typecast him.

His Australian work includes The Dish and filming of the TV adaptation of Apple’s Never Fall, based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel, is set to begin soon.