Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor everyone remembers from Jurassic Park, said no. In 2009, when New Zealand offered him a knighthood, he flatly turned it down: he found it “too grandiose”. He preferred to remain as he was, without the weight of a “Sir” before his name. 🎬
However, time changes things. Thirteen years later, now 74, Neill reconsidered. In June 2022, he finally accepted the title and was invested as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order, this time not for himself, but on behalf of all the actors of Aotearoa. 👑
Sometimes it takes more than a decade to understand that accepting an honor is not vanity, but gratitude toward those who come after.