By Laura Frykberg
The Olympic swordsman behind fight scenes in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Star Wars has died aged 89.
Canadian-born Bob Anderson was Darth Vader in his light sabre scenes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
His sword-fighting skills will also be missed by the New Zealand film industry.
Viggo Mortensen made it look easy, but his skill on the battlefield was all thanks to master swordsman Anderson.
"I always say I never took up the sword, the sword took up me," Anderson once said.
He died on New Year's Day at an English hospital. The Olympic fencer had staged sword fights on film sets for almost 60 years.
While few knew him outside the film world, inside it he was legendary
"He was given the right that he deserved to show us and show the director how to do these fights," says Mortensen.
Paul Shapcott worked with Anderson on the Lord Of The Rings and The Legend Of Zorro. He says his skill in European fencing was only part of why he was so admired .
"He always had a good presence on set, or when we were training with the actors," says Shapcott. "You know, everybody had a lot of respect for him, and he was always a friend, even though he was that much older than all of us, you could also, you know, talk to him as a friend."
Anderson leaves behind a wife and three children, but his impression will also last in the sporting world - the British Fencing Academy described him as the "greatest fencing master and a world-class film fight director and choreographer".
"I think the sword was put there for me to fall over, then keep falling over until I picked it up and did something with it," Anderson said.
And what he did with it will delight movie fans for generations to come.
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