Hunt for the Wilderpeople actor Julian Dennison has paid tribute to his late co-star Sam Neill.
News broke earlier this week (July 13th) that the beloved Kiwi actor had died the age of 78. Neill’s family confirmed his death in a statement shared on social media.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia,” the statement read. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.”
Neill starred opposite Dennison in Taika Waititi’s comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople in 2016, with the film going on to become a box office sensation in Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Aue, te ngau nei i te whatumanawa, i te hinganga o te tōtara nui i Te Waonui-a-Tāne, taku matua kēkē, taku kaiārahi, taku hoa pūmau.
“Aue, the biting of the heart at the fall of the great tōtara, my uncle, my guide, my faithful friend,” Dennison wrote in an Instagram post, accompanied by a series of photos of him and Neill together.
“My heart hurts. I was young when we shot wilderpeople. But I still hold onto a lifetime of memories. Sam showed me what it was like to live a life in service to the things and people he loved. Sad knowing the world won’t have him anymore.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Thank you for being the skuxxest, most loving, caring real fake uncle!!” he concluded.
View this post on Instagram
Tribures have come Neill’s way from all over the world this week.
Steven Spielberg, the director of Jurassic Park, one of Neill’s biggest films, shared a statement to Variety: “Sam was exceptionally collaborative,” he said. “It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.”
Spielberg’s statement concluded: “I adored making all the ‘Jurassic’ movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our ‘Jurassic’ family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Neill’s Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern shared her own tribute, calling him a “beloved lifetime friend.”
“He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit,” Dern shared in a statement to E! News. “He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
Read our own tribute to Neill here. Check out our countdown of 5 of his must-see films here.
