Jamie Lee Curtis thinks Bill Paxton's death is "terribly sad".

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis

The 58-year-old actress is very upset that her 'True Lies' co-star passed away on Saturday (25.02.17) at the age of 61 due to complications from surgery and has paid tribute to her friend.

She said: "It's always unexpected when someone is young and not seemingly ill. It's just so terribly sad.

"I've been in communication with ['True Lies' director] Jim Cameron today and Bill had - Bill had that rare ability to be a really serious kind of stupid person."

And Jamie praised Bill's talent, insisting 'True Lies' would never have been the film that it was without his involvement.

She told People: "[In 'True Lies'] he played this guy with such commitment to his conviction to try to basically score on women, but created that entire world that he believed so strongly would land him some women and just his conviction in that is what made it so funny.

"With anyone else, it would have been a joke, but it wasn't a joke to him. That knucklehead was so committed and that's why [my character], an intelligent woman, would fall pretty to him. If I was not a smart person, you'd go, 'This would never work. Why would Helen ever fall for him?' It was his gift. His commitment in whatever it was - he was someone who threw himself into whatever he was doing."

And the actress admitted she often tries to "emulate" the "investment in truth" that Bill - who is survived by wife Louise Newbury and their children James and Lydia - always showed in his work.

She added: "My memory, of course, first thing went to that scene in his trailer where he's trying to woo her and Arnold [Schwarzenegger] and everyone shows up.

"His commitment to that truth as an actor was really what made him so unique and special.

The specificity of truth. I try and emulate that in my work but his investment in truth - be it a drama or a comedy - is what set him apart.

"And he was a talented filmmaker and a writer and a creative - and when you have a creator, you have an energy that is very special."

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