With the sad passing of Hollywood actor Sam Neill - best known for starring roles in Jurassic Park, The Hunt for Red October and The Piano - announced, the New Zealander’s ties to Tenby and cherished childhood connections have been shared once again.

Neill had deep personal ties to Tenby, having lived there with his maternal grandmother for several months at age seven before his family relocated to New Zealand.

He passed away at age 78 on July 13 in Sydney, Australia, from an unexpected cause following his battle with blood cancer.

Neill was born in Northern Ireland to a New Zealand father, who was serving with the Irish Fusiliers, and an English mother. The family moved to New Zealand when Sam was seven.

Neill frequently spoke with nostalgic affection for the Pembrokeshire coastal town in an interview with Coutry Life magazine back in 2010, where he noted Tenby had hardly changed since his childhood.

He said that some of his most endearing memories of Tenby include his maternal grandmother (whom he affectionately called "Gaggie") - running a small cafe in her garden during World War II, serving meatless pies and tea to German prisoners of war.

Asked on where else he calls ‘home’ - as well as referencing Central Otago, and Ireland, Neill remarked: “Much of the UK-my mother's family was from Herefordshire, which I love. But my beloved Granny lived in Tenby, which has hardly changed since the 1950s, and I'm almost overcome with tearful nostalgia when I go back there.”

Tenby local, Linzi Harrison, daughter of the late Laurie Dale, and brother to actor Charles Dale, shared in the Tenby Through Time group on Facebook: “Very sad news. My dad knew the family and on a number of occasions he called to see my dad. A kind man and a great actor.”