Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow & Nicole Kidman pay tribute to Anthony Minghella

Jude Law has expressed sadness over Anthony Minghella's death.

Minghella, 54, suffered a fatal hemorrhage following routine surgery early Tuesday.

Jude - who worked with the late director in his breakthrough role as murder victim Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and was also nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his work in Minghella's 2003 Cold Mountain and starred in the 2006 drama Breaking and Entering - said: "I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Anthony's untimely death.

"I worked with him on three films, more than with any other director, but had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague.

"He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it onto the screen in a way that always looked effortless," said Law. "He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely."

Minghella's leading ladies also told of their shock over his death.

"I'm devastated, there is really no way to put it into words," says Minghella's Cold Mountain star Nicole Kidman, 40. "He was a gift to the world."

Gwyneth Paltrow, 35, also paid her respects to a man she says is, "incredibly talented and so interested in art and making the world better for art."

Paltrow, who appeared in Mr. Ripley said, "He was very specific and very loving. He was very sweet to his actors. He would kind of massage everybody while he was talking – very tactile and warm."

Ralph Fiennes, who starred in Minghella's The English Patient (which won nine Oscars in all, including Best Director), said he was "devastated and shocked to hear" of the filmmaker's untimely death.

"Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor's process that very few directors have. He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humor and precision. He delighted in the contribution of everyone – he was a true collaborator."

In terms of Minghella's output, Fiennes said, "His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death. I will remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter."