Jurassic Park star Sam Niell dies at age 78

Sam Neill, New Zealand actor best known for his role as the velociraptor-dodging scientist in the blockbuster "Jurassic Park", dies at age 78.

The statement reveals the death on Monday was "sudden and unexpected," and Neill, who had previously been diagnosed with lymphoma had "remained cancer free" when he passed.

Northern Ireland-born Neil moved with his family to New Zealand when he was seven and came into prominence in his 20s after an explosion of Australian films found an international audience in the late 1970s.

He appeared in a wide range of roles, from a stern 1800s New Zealand settler in 1993 film "The Piano," to an inspector in the hit TV series "Peaky Blinders".

But he is perhaps most loved and remembered for is his role as palaeontologist Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" franchise. The Steven Spielberg film sparked the 1990s dino-mania and led to a massive spike in enrolment in geology and palaeontology in universities around the world.