The Guardian has gathered tributes to Sam Neill from actors and a director who worked with him, following the news of his death. Lindsay Duncan, Charles Dance and director Peter Webber each recall a warm, unpretentious man whose charm and generosity extended well beyond his acting career, particularly through his New Zealand winery, Two Paddocks.

Duncan, who appeared with Neill in Reilly, Ace of Spies and Blackbird, remembers him as funny, attentive and a good listener who shared his own wine with colleagues; when he was undergoing cancer treatment, his Blackbird co-stars commissioned him a cake as a joke to lift his spirits, and several of them later got matching blackbird tattoos in his honour. Dance, who worked with him on Plenty, To the Ends of the Earth and And Then There Were None, praised his balance and lack of "cardinal ambition", noting he was more proud of his pinot noir than any award, and recalled a warm exchange after Neill's cancer diagnosis. Webber, who directed him in Tutankhamun, began describing what drew him to cast Neill, referencing his performance in the film Possession.