Kiwi actor James Rolleston is on the road to recovery after being transferred to a rehabilitation unit.

The 19-year-old was initially airlifted to Tauranga Hospital in a critical condition after the car he and another person were travelling in crashed into the Otara Bridge on State Highway 35 near Ōpōtiki on the night of July 26.

James Rolleston has been transferred to a rehabilitation unit. Photo: Fairfax.

Police say when staff arrived at the scene James was trapped inside the car and had to be cut free from the wreckage, while the other occupant, Kaleb Maxwell, of the vehicle sustained minor injuries.

The car was written off and police were forced to shut down the road for an hour to clear the wreckage.

James was catapulted to fame playing Alamein in Taika Waititi's hit movie Boy, and has since starred in the critically acclaimed movie The Dark Horse, action movie The Dead Lands, and more recentlythe screen-adaptation of Eleanor Catton's debut novel The Rehearsal.

The young star is also well known for his involvement with Tauranga charity Homes of Hope which provides foster care for abused and neglected children without separating siblings.