Sam Neill raised money for the community cinema and traded banter in the local cafe, so to residents of the small towns near where he lived, the actor fitted right in<\/p>\n
He may have been New Zealand\u2019s most famous, internationally beloved, film star, but to the small South Island communities near where he lived, Sam Neill was \u201cjust a local\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was no aspect of him that was: \u2018Hey I\u2019m Sam Neill and I\u2019m walking down the main street,\u2019\u201d says Russell Garbut, who resides in Clyde, one of two tiny townships in central Otago that the actor frequented.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e55bc2d80fb02bd74eb0fb6aea33a5c27cea6de9\/157_587_1103_882\/master\/1103.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=8fbc81dd5c356b8f46e68e74e50d6e76\" "\\"\u2018Just")
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