Laura Dern pays tribute to ‘Jurassic Park’ co-star Sam Neill after his death

Laura Dern is mourning her “Jurassic Park” co-star Sam Neill after his death at age 78.

“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit,” Dern said in a statement to Page Six on Monday.

The Oscar winner called Neill “a true and noble gentleman” who was “wrapped up in my dream leading man.”

“I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant,” Dern, 59, concluded her statement.

Dern and Neill played love interests Dr. Ellie Sattler and Dr. Alan Grant, respectively, in 1993’s “Jurassic Park.”

They reprised their roles in 2001’s “Jurassic Park III” and 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion.”

In 2022, Dern and Neill explained that while they initially didn’t mind their characters falling in love despite the actors’ 20-year age gap, their feelings changed over the years.

“I am 20 years older than Laura! Which at the time was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady,” Neill said in the pair’s interview with the Sunday Times.

Dern was 23 when she filmed “Jurassic Park” and 26 when the movie was released in theaters, while Neill was in his 40s during the process.

Neill said he realized Dr. Sattler and Dr. Grant’s relationship was inappropriate when he saw himself in a magazine article titled “Old Geezers and Gals.”

Dern said while “it felt completely appropriate to fall in love” with Neill at the time, “cultural awareness about the patriarchy” made her realize that the romance was wrong.

While promoting “Jurassic World Dominion” in 2022, Dern said getting to work with Neill again was a “dream come true.”

“He’s just an extraordinary gentleman and the minute I walked [along] that dig site into the tent and there was Dr. Alan Grant, still waiting for me to show up, I was very moved. And it was very special,” the “Marriage Story” actress told Entertainment Tonight.

Steven Spielberg, who directed “Jurassic Park,” paid tribute to Neill in his own statement to Page Six.

The 79-year-old director called Neill “exceptionally collaborative” and said the late actor’s role in the franchise as someone who didn’t like kids “was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.”

“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him,” Spielberg continued. “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.” 

Neill’s family confirmed his “sudden and unexpected” death in an Instagram statement on Monday.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” the statement read

Two months before his death, Neill announced he was cancer-free following his battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer.