Sam Neill Says Cast Members Worried 'We Might Die Today' When Hurricane Hit “Jurassic Park” Set
- - Sam Neill Says Cast Members Worried 'We Might Die Today' When Hurricane Hit “Jurassic Park” Set
Virginia ChamleeFebruary 6, 2026 at 11:03 PM
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Sam Neill
Chris Hyde/Getty
Sam Neill is remembering when a hurricane hit the Hawaiian filming location of Jurassic Park
The cast had been filming for 10 weeks when production told the actors they wouldn't be filming one day, due to a hurricane
The actor played paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the 1993 film
Sam Neill is remembering the hurricane that hit the Jurassic Park set — and how weathering the storm helped him bond with his co-stars.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Neill, 78, recounted how Hurricane Iniki hit the part of Hawaii in which the film was being shot in September 1992.
"We'd been working in Hawaii for a week or 10 days, and we went down to report for duty at 6:30 in the morning or whatever it is," Neill — who played paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the film — told the outlet. "And they said, 'We're not going to work today...There's a hurricane coming.' "
The actor added that everything "went very still" before the storm and that he and Laura Dern (who played Dr. Ellie Sattler) expressed serious worries.
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Sam Neill in Jurassic Park Amblin/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock
"Laura and I went down to the beach, and she said, 'Do you think we might die today?' And I said, 'I think that's entirely possible,' " he said.
Fortunately, the cast members were okay and remained protected in a resort ballroom while the storm passed.
"Because it traveled very fast, it wasn't a very damaging hurricane, but it did a lot of damage when it was right over the top of us," Neill told EW. "It destroyed our sets, and it meant we had to travel back to L.A. in two or three days when a plane could actually land — 'cause the airport was covered in dead trees and things."
Neill recently reunited with Jurassic Park co-stars Dern and Jeff Goldblum for a Super Bowl commercial for Xfinity.
Ahead of Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, Xfinity shared two brand-new commercials set to air during the third quarter of the game, one of which shows Goldblum, 73, playing just the first few notes of John Williams' score from the original 1993 Jurassic Park as Dern, 58, and Neill, 78, watch on.
"Jeff, that's so cool. Did you just make that up?" Neill questions in the hilarious clip, as Dern says, "No, Sam. That's the score from our movie."
"What movie?" Neill teases, as Goldblum plays the iconic notes on a grand piano.
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Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Neill said the reunion was "a pleasure," adding, "It doesn't happen enough."
"We're good friends, but when you think about it, we couldn't live further apart. I'm in New Zealand, Jeff is in Italy and Laura is in L.A. now. I don't think you can spread out the world more than that," he said.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
