Sam Neill Reveals the Most Dangerous Moment He Faced on the Jurassic Park Set: ‘Do you think we might die today?’

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Sam Neill recently recounted a scary experience he had while filming Jurassic Park, and explained why he enjoyed revisiting the franchise for a new Super Bowl commercial. He shared this story with Entertainment Weekly while discussing the Xfinity Super Bowl ad, which is based on the original movie.

Honestly, one of the biggest draws for me doing the commercial was getting to work with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum again. It’s rare we get the chance, you know? We all live so far apart – I’m based in New Zealand, Jeff’s usually in Italy, and Laura’s in Los Angeles. As I said, it’s always a real pleasure when we do get to collaborate, but it just doesn’t happen often enough.

Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill have a strong connection, and Neill recently remembered a particularly scary time they shared while making the first Jurassic Park movie. He explained that during filming in Hawaii in 1992, Hurricane Iniki suddenly struck. The cast showed up for work one morning, only to be told that filming was cancelled because of the approaching storm, as Neill told Entertainment Weekly.

I was captivated by Neill’s story of how everything shifted so suddenly. He described the ocean receding, and this eerie silence falling over everything. He and Dern walked down to the beach, and I was struck by the question she posed to him – a truly sobering one. He recalled her asking, ‘Do you think we might die today?’ and his honest reply, ‘I think that’s entirely possible.’ It was a haunting moment he shared, and it really stuck with me.

The film’s cast and crew were forced to take shelter in a hotel ballroom for several hours while a storm passed through. According to Neill, although the storm was brief, it caused significant damage, completely destroying their sets. The airport was blocked by debris, so they were stuck waiting several days before they could fly back to Los Angeles. During this delay, Neill said the group, including director Steven Spielberg, kept spirits high by entertaining each other, with Spielberg being particularly funny and engaging.

Neill reflected that overcoming that experience made all future challenges seem manageable. He admitted, “We had some close calls on other films, but that was the nearest we ever came to a truly dangerous situation.”

I was so excited to see the new Xfinity Super Bowl commercial! It brought back Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm – Neill, Dern, and Goldblum – and it was amazing! The ad basically shows what Jurassic Park would be like if everything worked – reliable Wi-Fi, no breakdowns, happy guests. It was filmed here in California, and NBCUniversal did an incredible job making it feel just like the original movie. It really took me back!

Neill pointed out that his costume wasn’t the same one used in the original movie. He’d previously donated most of his Jurassic Park memorabilia to charity. “They had to make me a new uniform,” he explained, and he decided not to keep it, just in case there’s another cast reunion in the future.

Neill discussed the newest Jurassic World film, Rebirth, calling it a real family project and highly praising lead actress Scarlett Johansson. He jokingly said he felt like Johansson, his co-star, could handle any challenge, adding with a laugh, “She gets it from me.”

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2026-02-07 10:45