Neill stars in a new Super Bowl commercial for Xfinity, reuniting him with “Jurassic” stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.

Sam Neill calls Jurassic World Rebirth ‘a family affair’ after playing Scarlett Johansson’s dad in 1998 film

Neill stars in a new Super Bowl commercial for Xfinity, reuniting him with "Jurassic" stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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February 3, 2026 2:15 p.m. ET

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Sam Neill in 'Jurassic World Dominion'; Scarlett Johansson in 'Jurassic World Rebirth'. Credit:

Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment; Jasin Boland/Universal

For Sam Neill, one of the original leads of Steven Spielberg's *Jurassic Park* films, the latest franchise entry, *Jurassic World Rebirth*, feels familial.

"I'm very fond of Scarlett," the actor, who returns as Alan Grant for a new Xfinity Super Bowl commercial, tells ** of that movie's lead, Scarlett Johansson.

The two played father and daughter back in the 1998 film *The Horse Whisperer*, directed and starring Robert Redford. Neill played Robert MacLean, whose daughter Grace, played by a 12-year-old Johansson, was injured along with her horse during a tragic accident. The family hires a talented horse trainer, Tom Booker (Redford), to aid their recovery.

Scarlett Johansson and Sam Neill in 'The Horse Whisperer'.

Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

"I feel like it's a family affair here," Neill comments to EW on *Jurassic World Rebirth*. "We were with Kristin Scott Thomas and Robert Redford, and we were out in Montana, and I was playing her dad," the star recalls. "So I feel like my daughter, she's capable of kicking any ass. She gets it from me."

Johansson continued the cinema legacy that began with Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum by starring in *Jurassic World Rebirth* (2025) as Zora Bennett, a special-ops expert hired by a pharmaceutical company to infiltrate the last known dinosaur haven to extract the DNA from the three largest creatures across land, sea, and sky.

Jonathan Bailey and 'Jurassic World Rebirth' team unpack that Alan Grant callout

'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill moved to tears over question about his parents

Neill now returns with Dern and Goldblum to reprise their roles of paleontologist Alan Grant, paleobotanist Ellie Sattler, and chaos theory mathematician Ian Malcolm for Xfinity's Super Bowl ad. Directed by Neill's *The Hunt for the Wilderpeople* filmmaker Taika Waititi, the commercial reimagines the plot of *Jurassic Park*. This time, with the reliable wifi connection of Xfinity, the park systems never fail, the dinosaurs never break out of their pens, and everyone can enjoy the island resort.

Sam Neill returns as Alan Grant for 'Jurassic Park'-themed Xfinity Super Bowl commercial.

Comcast and NBCUniversal

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Xfinity worked with NBCUniversal to recreate the familiar costumes, set pieces, and scenes from the Spielberg film that launched an entire Hollywood behemoth.

"Nothing I was wearing [in the ad] was original," Neill says, noting how he auctioned off his Timberland boots and *Dominion* hat, among other *Jurassic* props, for charity. "So they made me a new uniform. I did not keep it this time, just in case they want another reunion."

The Xfinity ad will air during the Super Bowl this Sunday.

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Source: “EW Sci-Fi”