Sam Neill discusses cancer battle, views on Putin and female leadership in new memoir interview

Sam Neill has given an update on his cancer battle, following the recent news of his diagnosis, as well as offering an interesting hypothesis behind what triggered the start of the war in Ukraine.

Actor Sam Neill has opened up about his cancer, and his views on Putin

In an interview to promote his memoir ‘Did I Ever Tell You This?’, the New Zealand actor revealed he had turned to writing as a therapeutic outlet in the midst of a gruelling battle with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer.

“I had to go for chemotherapy and I had nothing to do basically so I thought why not start writing it? It gave me something to think about,” he said.

“Suddenly I couldn’t work, so I’d go into my study and write about what I felt about writing that day and after a while it started to accumulate and, after a few months, I thought maybe there’s a book in this.”

He shared the encouraging news of his eight-month remission, stating, “I’m in tip top health and I’m starting work next week and all is good.”

During a discussion about his admiration of the women he has worked with in the film industry, the Jurrassic World actor said he believes the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not have happened if a woman was in charge.

He added he was still coming to terms with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s resignation, adding that the global political landscape would benefit greatly from an influx of female leadership.

“I think women, generally speaking, are better actors than men and I always love working opposite a talented woman because I find my own game lifts,” he said.

“I do think women are better at most things, actually.

Actor Sam Neill has revealed he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer, writing in a memoir that he was "possibly dying" from the illness diagnosed a year ago. The New Zealander, who burst to fame after starring as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park", said he began treatment last March for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. (Photo by Geoff Robins / AFP)

“I’m still mourning the loss of our Prime Minister in New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. She’s a terrible loss. I’d like to see a woman running most countries.

“I suspect there wouldn’t be a Ukraine problem at the moment if we had a woman running Russia. That’s too much testosterone!”

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Photo by Vladimir ASTAPKOVICH / SPUTNIK / AFP)

Neill is currently based the Gold Coast to shoot Apples Never Fall after it received a $10.7 million grant from the Federal Government’s Location Incentive and support from Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy. The limited series is projected to boost the local economy by an estimated $79 million and generate 260 jobs.

Neill also recently starred in The Portable Door, adapted from the Tom Holt book series which was also filmed on the Gold Coast and in parts of Brisbane, which premiered at HOTA on the Gold Coast.

The film’s multi-award-winning director, Jeffrey Walker, had nothing but praise for Neill in a recent interview with the Courier-Mail, calling the Australian actor “a gem” and shared his admiration for his talent and personality.

“It’s the second time I’ve worked with him. He’s a fabulous actor. He’s got an incredibly beautiful heart. He’s got a young spirit about him,” Walker said. “We had a young cast on this, and instead of being someone who’s like, ‘oh, no, I’ve done it all before’, he just brought them in. He wanted to hang out. He wanted to socialise, make them feel comfortable.”

Walker went on to describe Neill’s generosity and positive attitude on set, saying, “I love being on set with Sam. He was a gift.”

The Portable Door comes out in theatres in Australia on March 23, and will stream on Stan from April 7.