Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern remember Sam Neill in emotional tribute

Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern have paid an emotional tribute to their late friend and fellow actor Sam Neill, raising a glass of wine in his honour and remembering the Jurassic Park star with a heartfelt social media post.

Kidman, 59, shared a photo on Instagram of herself and Dern holding a bottle of Two Paddocks Last Chance Pinot Noir, produced at Neill’s vineyard in New Zealand’s Central Otago region.

“Raising a glass to our beloved friend and leading man, Sam,” Kidman wrote alongside the image. “Just the way he would want, toasting with his gorgeous Pinot.”

The touching tribute comes after Neill died on July 13 at the age of 78. His family announced that the acclaimed actor passed away at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney after developing pneumonia.

His death came just months after he revealed he was cancer-free following treatment for stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer.

In a statement shared on Neill’s official Instagram account, his family described his passing as “sudden and unexpected.”

Kidman and Dern both shared a long professional history with Neill, who starred as Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise. Dern portrayed Dr Ellie Sattler in the blockbuster series, while Kidman and Neill previously worked together on the 1989 thriller Dead Calm, a film that helped launch both actors onto the international stage.