Actress Kate Winslet has called Alan Rickman a "warm-hearted puppy dog" in her tribute to her Sense and Sensibility co-star, who has died aged 69 after suffering from cancer.
The much-loved British actor shot to stardom in 1988 when he played Bruce Willis' adversary Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard movie, and went on to gain a new generation of fans for his role as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.
Winslet, who first worked with him on the Ang Lee-directed Jane Austen tale, said her "life was enriched by knowing him".
"He was loved enormously by so many. He was an exceptionally warm and giving man and an utterly phenomenal actor and gifted director," she said.
"I remember being so intimidated by him when we worked together when I was 19 because he had such a powerful and commanding presence. And that voice! Oh, that voice ...
"But the reality, of course, was that he was the kindest and best of men. Had the patience of a saint. He was a warm-hearted puppy dog who would do anything for anyone if it made them happy."
Their final collaboration was 2014's A Little Chaos, directed and co-written by Rickman. It was his second outing behind the camera, 18 years after he directed Thompson in Scotland-based drama The Winter Guest.
Another Sense and Sensibility co-star, Emma Thompson, paid tribute and said it was "hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye".
In 2003's Love Actually, they played married couple Harry and Karen.
"What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness. His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word," she wrote.
"The intransigence which made him the great artist he was - his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him."
Harry Potter author JK Rowling joined other stars paying tribute to Rickman on Twitter and passed condolences to his wife Rima.
Harry Potter cast members Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson also remembered Rickman in touching tributes.
He was a respected star of stage and screen, and worked both behind and in front of the camera, with some of his work still to be released.
He has died just months before a new film called Eye in the Sky, in which he stars alongside Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul, is to open in cinemas.
The star had also completed another film set for release this year titled Alice through the Looking Glass.
His career began on the stage after he graduated from prestigious drama school RADA, and he frequently returned to the theatre throughout his career.
Hailing from a working-class London family, he supported himself as a dresser before finding work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Rickman's CV showcases a glittering career spanning almost four decades and features a list of hit films from Truly Madly Deeply to theatre credits including Private Lives and Antony And Cleopatra.
Just last year he revealed he had married his high school sweetheart after 50 years together.
Rickman had been in a relationship with Rima Horton since they met when he was 19 and she was 18.
Rickman was also viewed by many as a movie heart-throb and, striking a blow for the more mature actor, he was ranked in seventh place in a sexiest actor list by Total Film magazine in 2013 at the age of 66, beating stars such as Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
"Alan was a towering person, physically, mentally and as an artist," Mirren said.
"He was utterly distinctive, with a voice that could suggest honey or a hidden stiletto blade, and the profile of a Roman Emperor. He was also a great friend, generous and social. He will be very missed by many."
