‘Yours’: rural New Zealand remembers Sam Neill, its daily star | Sam Neill

He may have been a famous film star in New Zealand, loved around the world, but in the small South Island communities near where he lived, Sam Neill was “ordinary”.

“There was nothing in him that was: ‘Yes, I am.’ Sam Neill and I’m walking down the highway,’” says Russell Garbut, who lives in Clyde, one of two small towns in Central Otago that the actor frequented.

“There was no magic like that. I think he was a very down-to-earth person, and he was – and it sounds like a mockery – but ordinary, he got into the community.”

Neill died, aged 78, in Sydney on Monday, shoot and tax outpouring from Hollywood heavyweights, politicians and the public.

But in the rural towns where Neill was a native, news of his death has generated greater awareness.

Neill lives in the Earnscleugh Valley, in the Central Otago region of New Zealand where he produces wines under the name Two Paddocks and he lived with his famous pets.

They are often seen in the nearby towns of Clyde, population 1,200, and Alexandra, population 5,860, eating at local restaurants and going to movies at the local cinema.

In Alexandra, Neill was the manager of the community-run Central Cinema. Tracy Blackwell, the film’s chair, told the Guardian that, to the community, “he was just Sam”.

“You wouldn’t think he was a Hollywood star, living in our small town — and he loves our towns.”

During the movie’s “meet and greet” nights with Neill, he saw a dramatic increase in membership, and when the movie theater showed Neill’s movies on weekends, he offered recordings of himself discussing each movie to be shown.

“He believed that every small town should have a movie theater, and I think that’s why he was so keen on us,” says Blackwell.

In a statement on social media, the video thanked Neill for his “laughter, stories and unwavering support”, and said he would be greatly missed.

“Sam was more than an international icon; he was a valued member of our Central Otago community, a champion of local arts, and a true friend of our cinema,” the video said in its post. “His belief in the magic of cinema meant the world to our volunteers and moviegoers alike.”

Clyde resident Sue Noble-Adams was at a meeting on Monday night when she heard of Neill’s death. “I burst into tears … I couldn’t take it anymore,” she says.

Noble-Adams first met Neill years ago at Dunedin airport. He was thinking about how to get his father, who was in a wheelchair at the time, into the men’s bathroom, when a well-known guest intervened.

“Sam came over and said, ‘I’ll have him, if you want?’,” says Noble-Adams.

In the years that followed, Noble-Adams met Neill several times in Clyde, where he was “part of the community”, she says, adding that his death left a “huge hole” in the community and in New Zealand.

“Sam Neill was a wonderful man. He was respected in New Zealand, respected in Clyde. We have lost a real man and a wonderful player.”

He also invested his money and time in local charities, including donating wine to Garbut’s fundraisers for the Central Otago hospice services.

“He did a lot of good things behind the scenes … he was just a guy who got along without arguing,” says Garbut.

Hayley Anderson, head of Dunstan Hospital – the rural hospital in Clyde where Neill was treated for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a form of blood cancer – said he was humble, down-to-earth and relatable.

“All these unique words that really speak to the people of salt that just add value,” says Anderson.

In 2025, Neill became a trustee of the hospital, and supported it through donations, fundraising picnics and publicity. Anderson says that although Neill was a private person, he was able to communicate with staff during and after his treatment, and that the medical team was “really touched” when they heard the news.

“They have such a presence, a global presence, but it was very understated,” Anderson says.

Online, local people flooded the forums with their own stories – talking to Neill, talking about his generosity and love.

Duo Cafe in Clyde – where Neill frequents – said: “Whether he was enjoying a quiet time, or joking about how ‘everyone’s ordered the hottest in a few years’, or enjoying a ‘good bloody night’, Sam always did it with a twinkle in his eye.

The stars shone “a little dim last night with the loss of a great Kiwi legend”.