As the world mourns a Hollywood heavyweight, among the snow-capped hills of Central Otago, residents are grieving for a "good, humble" neighbour who preferred gumboots to the red carpet.
By Katie Todd of RNZ
Near Sir Sam Neill's home and winery of more than 30 years, locals in the towns of Alexandra and Clyde say they have lost a quiet stalwart and one of their own.
Sir Sam's family announced his unexpected death in Sydney on Monday, aged 78.
At the Central Cinema in Alexandra where Sir Sam was a patron, Barry Hood said the community felt the death as a real blow.
"He did a lot – not just for us but for a lot of the places around here. He was a very generous, very nice guy," he said.
From New Zealand to Hollywood: The world pays tribute to Sir Sam Neill - Watch on TVNZ+
Hood said despite Sir Sam's high international profile, the silver screen always played second fiddle to the soil of his Two Paddocks vineyard up the road.
"I think he was more of a of a wine guy than he was an actor. I think the acting was the second for him – even though most people know him from that. The wine was what interested him the most," he said.
Among locals, Sir Sam's greatest talent was not his award-winning BAFTA, Logie and New Zealand Screen Legend acting, but his ability to blend in and stay down to earth, said Lex Coutts of Alexandra.
"He didn't make an issue of the fact that he was so famous... he was just a regular bloke who had an exceptional talent really. A lot of people seem to wear their fame like a banner and rub your noses in it. That wasn't him," he said.
In recent years, Sir Sam lent his backing to a divisive local cause calling for a stop to the fast-tracking of an open-cast gold mine near Cromwell, which he called "toxic", "horrific" and "a threat to Central Otago's pristine landscapes".
Film critic Kate Rodger reflects on Sir Sam's life and career. (Source: Breakfast)
Coutts said some locals felt very differently about the Bendigo Ophir gold project.
Sir Sam's stance attracted abuse and threats of violence.
"I'm disappointed that people took his stand on the mine proposition to the extremes that they did. He was just trying to do the right thing as he saw it himself, which was kind of like what he was as a person," Coutts said.
Sustainable Tarras chair Suze Keith reflected that Sir Sam's decision to speak out greatly aided her group's work to advocate against the mine and challenge the Australian company behind it.
"We just couldn't see how, as a small community group, we were going to be able to actively represent the local community's concerns.
"And he turned up sort of like a knight in shining armour just at the right moment and understood the challenge immediately and galvanised support.
Some of New Zealand's biggest stars of stage and screen have remembered Sir Sam Neill as a tireless champion of Aotearoa. (Source: Breakfast)
"And essentially, the ripple effect of his very passionate opposition to the Bendigo mine proposal meant that we were able to represent those concerns and those community values in the fast track courtroom, essentially, over the last six months," she said.
"He was able to articulate that connection to the land because he knew it so well, both as someone who lives in Central Otago but also someone who works the land through his vineyard."
Night 'n Day Clyde owner Ryan Williams said he was shocked by the death and was saddened that he would no longer be chatting with Sir Sam on his snack run, often to pick up Greek yoghurt or fruit.
While some tourists came to Clyde specifically hoping to see Sir Sam, the actor himself maintained a low profile, Williams said, driving a modest car and moving between local shops and cafés.
"He used the local butcher... they would keep all the offal and everything like that and they'd be repurposing all of that on site to turn into fertiliser for the grapes. He's played a pretty major role with a lot of local businesses around here," he said.
"If Sam Neill walks in here, people just sort of let him go about his stuff. The odd person got a bit starstruck....but other than that, most people just sort of left him."
Alexandra resident Karl Hamilton said he, like many locals, had spoken with Sir Sam once, and felt the weight of his absence.
"It is a big loss. It's going to be a big part of the community gone, really," he said.
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