Sam Neill reveals he is being treated for blood cancer

WASHINGTON — Actor Sam Neill revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he recently underwent chemotherapy for a type of blood cancer. 

He writes about the diagnosis in his memoir set to be released next week, "Did I Ever Tell You This?"

Neill is best known for his role as Alan Grant in the "Jurassic Park" franchise.

He first experienced swollen glands while doing promotion work for "Jurassic World: Dominion" last year. He was diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, the Guardian reports, a type of blood cancer. 

Neill was originally treated with chemotherapy, but when that started to fail he began taking a new chemotherapy drug which he will take monthly for the rest of his life. Neill said he is now cancer-free, the Guardian reports.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” he said in the interview to promote the new book. “But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive.”

Neill rose to prominence with his role in "Jurassic Park," which he reprised in "Jurassic Park III" and the latest "Jurassic World: Dominion." His long resume of other credits includes "Peaky Blinders," "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," "The Piano" and "The Hunt for Red October." 

He was nominated for an Emmy for "Merlin" in 1998 and again for his narration of "New Zealand: Earth's Mystical Islands" in 2016.

Neill is set to begin work on "Apples Never Fall," a television adaptation of the bestselling novel that will co-star Annette Bening.