Los Angeles, July 15 -- Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is mourning the passing of his 'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill, who famously portrayed the character of palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant.

In a statement to Variety, Spielberg shared that he was "saddened" by the news of the actor's passing.

"I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in 'Jurassic Park,'" he said, while referencing to Neill's previous works 'Sleeping Dogs', 'My Brilliant Career', 'The Final Conflict', and 'Dead Calm'.

"Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a...