Stewart Island gets some star power this week in the form of The Hoff
Wednesday, 6 September 2023
Stewart Island’s sole police officer Stuart Newton says it was just another day when he got to meet David Hasselhoff and Rhys Darby on Tuesday.
The pair were seen on Stewart Island joining in on a local quiz night and chatting with locals as they scouted locations and filmed for an upcoming TV series.
First spotted in Auckland on Saturday, where Darby and ‘The Hoff’ were seen doing the Sky Walk, Newton said he had known for “quite some time” they were coming to the island.
“We weren’t necessarily sworn to secrecy, but you just want to keep it under the hat a wee bit in respect to them, they’re filming a TV show,” Newton said.
With the arrival of Hasselhoff and Darby, Newton’s job hadn’t got any busier with any type of security measures, things had stayed pretty normal.
But he said he was proud of the community for not mobbing around the stars while they had been in town.
“Last night we had a quiz at the South Seas Hotel and David and Rhys were there, obviously on the guest side of things, and they just sat at a table with a couple of locals and everybody there didn’t seem to sort of mob them, sort of gave a bit of space.”
There were opportunities for the public to grab some photos and selfies afterwards, Newton said.
The weather had been good to them with “beautiful sunshine and great warmth”, despite Darby and Hasselhoff wearing puffer jackets in photos with Newton.
Newton grew up with Knight Rider and Baywatch and said the pair were “just normal people” and easy to talk to.
A highlight for Newton was hearing about how Darby had the opportunity to see a kiwi in the wild.
Since visiting Stewart Island there have been reports of Hasselhoff being seen in Queens Park, Invercargill, on Wednesday with More FM hosts Joe Cotton and Steve Broad sharing a picture on their Facebook page with the actor.
The Hits Southland host Liv Cochrane also snagged a pic with the Baywatch star as she walked out of their Invercargill office.
A passerby in Queens Park on Wednesday afternoon said they were sure they walked pass Hasselhoff, a film crew and an actor who looked like they were dressed up as a cheese roll as they headed to their car.
Invercargill City Council announced on Facebook that Darby and Hasselhoff stopped by Queens park on Wednesday to complete some filming. They shared photos of the actor with community members and an actor dressed as a cheese roll.