On The Up: The Rookie stars Melissa O’Neil and Lisseth Chavez spotted in Rotorua

Melissa O’Neil (left) and Lisseth Chavez (right) with Rotorua Mountain Jade employee Kaelin Savage after their surprise visit. Photo / Supplied

A Rotorua worker was trying to stay professional when two actors walked through the door.

Melissa O’Neil and Lisseth Chavez, who play Lucy Chen and Celina Juarez in the American police drama The Rookie, visited Mountain Jade about 5pm on Tuesday.

Kaelin Savage shared the stories of local artists, the meaning of pounamu and Māori carving traditions with O’Neil and Chavez, while trying to maintain her composure.

“But as soon as I stepped away, I ran straight to tell AJ in the backroom,” Savage said.

Colleague AJ Moke didn’t believe her at first. She told him to go and see for himself.

“We were both giddy, and we couldn’t believe it because we had been talking about them coming to New Zealand only a few weeks ago,” Savage said.

They “properly” introduced themselves to the actors.

Savage said they were “incredibly warm and down to earth”.

“At one point, we ended up sharing hugs ... it was such a genuine, special interaction.”

Savage said the atmosphere in the store made it “more meaningful”. The song Waitī Waitā by Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa was playing.

“Melissa became quite emotional; you could see how much it moved her,” Savage said.

The encounter was one Savage and Moke would “never forget”.

O’Neil and Chavez selected “several” Mountain Jade Pieces, including pounamu toki to take home for their families.

Savage said the pair were “really interested” in returning to Rotorua to meet the store’s carvers and take part in a carving tour.

O’Neil and Chavez also spent time at Atticus Finch on Eat Streat on Monday night, where manager Pratham Juneja said he didn’t know the actors.

But when one of the waitresses realised who was sitting outside, “she couldn’t even breathe”, Juneja said.

She got to serve the actors that night.

Atticus Finch staff Brooke Andersen (left), Charlise Colle and Briana Lang (right) with The Rookie actors Lisseth Chavez (middle left) and Melissa O’Neil. Photo / Supplie

Juneja took a photo of three “really excited” waitresses with O’Neil and Chavez – they were all fans of the show.

They ordered Irish whiskeys alongside other drinks and a meal, and were given dessert on the house.

“We didn’t really interrupt them,” Juneja said.

It was the first time he had seen someone famous at the restaurant in more than two years working there.

The Rookie stars also visited Ōtorohanga’s Fat Kiwi Cafe at about 3pm.

Cafe staffer Nicole Hemara, a big fan of the show, told the Waikato Herald that Chen and Juarez were her favourite characters.

Hemara said they were “the most lovely people I’ve ever met”, and just like their on-screen characters.

O’Neil has been on the TV show since season one and her character is now a sergeant, while Chavez joined the show in season five.

O’Neil is in New Zealand for the Armageddon Expo in Auckland this weekend.

Season eight of The Rookie is on TVNZ, with earlier seasons available on multiple streaming platforms.

Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.