Bryce Dallas Howard Honors Sam Neill With a Piano Tribute That’s Bringing the ‘Jurassic Park’ Family Together One Last Time
For more than three decades, the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise has been defined as much by its dinosaurs as by the chemistry between its original stars. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum first shared the screen in 1993, and that bond only deepened when the trio reunited for ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ in 2022. The film brought Neill, Dern, and Goldblum back together on screen, and the three stars sing the Beatles’ “Blackbird” in a piano video that captures the friendship built around these movies.
Neill’s death has hit the entertainment world hard. The actor died on July 13 at age 78, closing out a career that spanned dinosaurs, submarines, and intimate dramas. In the days since, tributes have poured in from castmates and directors alike, but one particular clip has stood out for how personal and unguarded it feels.
That clip came from Bryce Dallas Howard, who starred alongside Neill in ‘Jurassic World Dominion.’ Howard shared a video showing Neill singing the Beatles classic at a piano alongside Dern and Goldblum, with Goldblum playing along on the keys. In the footage, Neill croons alongside his co-stars while Goldblum accompanies on piano, a small and easy moment between old friends rather than a staged performance.
Howard explained exactly where the memory came from. The moment happened while the cast was living together in what she called a little bubble at a hotel during the filming of ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ amid the pandemic. She spent four and a half months in a hotel just minutes from set with Neill and the rest of the cast, forming a tight knit group during an otherwise frightening stretch of time. In her caption, Howard described Neill as funny, warm, wickedly self-deprecating, and endlessly kind, adding that he was exactly who fans hoped the man behind Alan Grant would be.
Laura Dern offered her own farewell, reflecting on a friendship that outlasted the cameras entirely. “Sam was my beloved lifetime friend,” Dern said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
The tributes extended well past his direct co-stars. Steven Spielberg, who first cast Neill in the role that defined much of his career, said he adored working with the actor and remained saddened by the news, telling Variety that he, Dern, and Goldblum would always have their Jurassic family and that Neill would never be forgotten. Goldblum shared a series of throwback photos alongside the message, writing that the next great adventure begins, with love always and forever.
What makes Howard’s video linger is how ordinary it feels. Neill, Dern, and Goldblum aren’t recreating a scene or performing for cameras, they’re simply gathered around a piano months into living together, singing while the world outside remained unpredictable. Seeing Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Dr. Ian Malcolm harmonizing so casually gives fans a rare look at the real friendship behind the franchise’s most iconic trio. For anyone who grew up watching these three actors save the world from dinosaurs, what’s the memory of Sam Neill that means the most to you?
