Actor Kevin Smith was a dyed-in-the-wool Cantabrian, who
would have been bigger than Russell Crowe, says local
actor Mark Hadlow.
Christchurch colleagues were devastated yesterday as they
spoke about Smith's early career at the Court Theatre.
The former Timaru boy, who learned his craft at Christchurch's
Court Theatre, died at the Beijing Union Hospital on Saturday,
after suffering severe brain damage in a fall on February 6.
Hadlow said Smith was "a better actor" than Crowe.
"I am biased, but he touched my life, everyone's life in such a
lovely open way," he said.
Days after his death, mystery still surrounded how the actor fell.
Some news reports said he fell three storeys, while others
claimed he fell down a flight of stairs.
Smith had been celebrating with the staff from Chinese
production house Beijing Film Studio.
Beijing police are not investigating the accident.
Smith, 38, who was voted New Zealand's sexiest man last
December, had just finished filming a Chinese-American movie in
China's capital city. He was about to head to America to film his
first Hollywood movie, with Bruce Willis.
Former Court Theatre artistic director Elric Hooper gave Smith his
big acting break in 1987.
"He just walked straight into the foyer and asked me if he could
act," Hooper said.
"I told him to go away and come back with an audition piece.
People who look like that don't come along every day.
"He was with us for three years."
Hooper said Smith was "too talented".
"He could do everything," he said. "He was physically adept, he
could sing, and he had a great comic gift. But he had a dark
side.
"His temper was wonderful to behold. He punched a hole in a
theatre wall once. It is still known as Kevin's hole."
Hadlow said Smith's talent quickly shone through, and he asked
his agent, Robert Bruce, to meet him.
"I rang Robert and said, 'Look, there is this guy. His name's Kevin
Smith. You should see him. I think he will be amazing'."
Mr Bruce, Smith's agent for 12 years, said Smith had been "over
the moon" about his role as a navy man in the $166 million
blockbuster A Man of War, starring Bruce Willis.
"The role was a good-guy one," Mr Bruce said. "He was going to
be Bruce's mate, which is very important. He wasn't just going to
be one of the bad guys."
Mr Bruce said the irony was that he had told Smith his career
would not take off until he was in his late 30s: "I told him, you
have to get lines on your face and prove your talent."
Raised on a Timaru farm, Smith moved to Christchurch in his late
teens. He worked in a variety of jobs, including the advertising
department at The Press, before his big acting break. Smith's
parents, Geoff and Yvonne, still live in Timaru. They were at his
bedside when he died.
Hadlow said Christchurch was important to Smith because that
was where it all began: "Without Elric Hooper, there would be no
Kevin Smith."
Smith was not shy about declaring his love for Christchurch. In a
1999 interview with The Press, he said his move to Auckland to
further his acting career was temporary, and his heart would
always belong to Canterbury.
"It's where I came to when I first moved away from home," he
said. "Where I started making independent adult decisions. I
think I will always consider Christchurch home. I am still a
dyed-in-the-wool Cantabrian."
Smith had a string of television roles in programmes such as
McPhail and Gadsby, Gloss, City Life, Lawless, Xena Warrior
Princess, and Hercules.
He starred in the New Zealand films Desperate Remedies and
Channelling Baby.
Smith's body is expected to be flown home on Wednesday.
He is survived by his wife, Suzanne, and sons, Oscar, 11,
Tyrone, nine, and Willard, three.