English actor Nick Frost has paid tribute to his The Boat That Rocked co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman during a trip to Australia.
Frost was in Sydney to promote his new film Cuban Fury, which opens in Australia on March 20.
He said he had fond memories of working with Hoffman, who died on February 2 from a suspected drug overdose.
"I did work with Phil and I'm lucky enough that I got a chance to see what he did and how he worked and the fact that he was entirely normal and a gentleman and funny and charming," he told AAP.
"He worked hard and he was on set on time every day.
"A pro at life, not just on set.
"Obviously there was a side that very few people knew and that was a terrible fatal struggle with heroin."
Frost says he was lucky working with Hoffman, because they both "got one another".
"Me and him sat talking one day for five minutes and I said, `hey do me a favour, stop going on about your f***ing Oscar', and he really laughed and I really laughed at that and then that was how it was, we cracked on then."
He was "gutted" to hear the news of Hoffman's death.
"It was a terrible shock. He was my favourite actor and I think he was the greatest actor of his generation."
