Sam Neill Recalls His Son Farting Next to Princess Diana Throughout “Jurassic Park” Premiere
The actor shared the story on 'Today,' saying he was sweating because he was worried that the Princess would think it was him making the theater stink
Sam Neill says that Princess Diana had a gas at the 1993 London premiere of Jurassic Park — just not in the way he had hoped for.
On the 3rd Hour of Today, the New Zealander, 76, recalled the mortifying and hilarious story of the time he brought his son, Tim Neill, to the movie's premiere, which was also famously attended by Diana, who sat right beside them.
"There was a royal premiere in London, and it was, it was sort of a fortuitous occasion — you don’t get to sit beside Princess Diana every day," Neill said.
"But my son was sitting on the other side [of me] and it was kind of unfortunate, because once it starts getting exciting, about 45 minutes in, he was so carried away with things — he was about 10 years old at this point — he started to fart unreasonably."
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Sam Neill talks about his latest role in the dramatic @Peacock series “Apples Never Fall.”
He also shares the last time he fully watched "Jurassic Park" was with Princess Diana at the royal premiere in London and what happened with his then-10-year-old son at the event. 😳😂 pic.twitter.com/Ie3DKpJc78— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 7, 2024
Related: Charles Spencer Shares Rare Childhood Photo with Sister Princess Diana and Their Mom
Neill says the toots weren't loud — but they were otherwise very noticeable.
"It wasn’t that audible, but it was very, very [smelly]," he continued. "And there was sort of a draft through the cinema, and it was all drifting in the Princess’ direction. And I was there in my suit and bowtie and things, sweating like crazy because I thought, ‘The princess is going to think this is me. And it’s this little boy here.' "
Like a good dad, Neill says he didn't rat out his son.
"No, I couldn’t," he said. "He hates me telling that story, but it’s absolutely true."
He added with a laugh, "He's grown now... but I'm never going to another premiere with him!"
Neill is currently making a return to the small screen in the dramatic miniseries Apples Never Fall, opposite Annette Bening, streaming March 14 on Peacock. It marks the 10th project he's been in since being diagnosed with stage 3 blood cancer in 2021.
Related: Sam Neill Says He’s 'Not Remotely Afraid' of Death amid Cancer Journey: 'It’s Out of My Control'
In Oct. 2023, the actor spoke to Australian Story and gave an update on diagnosis with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
He told the outlet he wasn't interested in learning everything he could about the disease once he found out he had it.
"I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it," he told the outlet. "It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it."
After his diagnosis, Neill went through three months of chemotherapy before treatment stopped working and his tumor continued to grow. He then switched to a rare anti-cancer drug, which was successful.
Neill has now been in remission for 15 months. He said he requires infusions every two weeks, indefinitely. The actor admitted that the few days following treatment are "very grim and depressing," leaving him feeling like he’s “gone 10 rounds with a boxer.”
"But it's keeping me alive," he added.
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