Tributes paid to actor Pete Postlethwaite after actor loses battle with cancer

• Postlethwaite in 2008

Mr Postlethwaite passed away peacefully in hospital in Shropshire yesterday.

Julie Walters led tributes to a man equally at home on a British stage or the set of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Ms Walters, who worked with him at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in the 1970s, said: "He was quite simply the most exciting, exhilarating actor of his generation.

"He invented 'edgy'. He was an exhilarating person and actor.

"Spielberg was right when he said he was the best actor in the world."

Mr Postlethwaite, who was made an OBE in 2004, was once described by director Steven Spielberg as "probably the best actor in the world today".

In response, Mr Postlethwaite, who worked with him on The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad, joked: "I'm sure what Spielberg actually said was, 'the thing about Pete is that he thinks he's the best actor in the world'."

Mr Postlethwaite's films included Brassed Off, The Usual Suspects, The Shipping News, Inception and Romeo & Juliet.

He received his Oscar nomination for his performance as Guiseppe Conlon in the 1993 film In The Name Of The Father, about the wrongful convictions of the Guildford Four for an IRA bomb attack.

Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four, praised the actor's portrayal of his dying father.

"There were times when he turned and these quirky mannerisms that he performed, it was like looking at my dad," Mr Conlon said.

"I think In the Name of the Father and the part he played in it opened so many doors for him in his versatility."

Jim Sheridan, who directed the film, added: "He was a great warrior. He looked indestructible, that was the thing about him."

It is understood Mr Postlethwaite was first diagnosed with cancer around the time of filming In the Name of the Father.

Mr Sheridan said the IRA's 1993 bomb attack on the actor's home town of Warrington had a big impact on him.

He had originally planned to be a priest then became a teacher before following his passion for the stage.

At the Everyman, he rubbed shoulders with such future stars as Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce and Antony Sher.

Mr Nighy described him "a rare and remarkable man", adding that he was "irreplaceable."

Mr Postlethwaite was also a political activist who marched against the war in Iraq, supported the Make Poverty History campaign and starred in the 2009 film about global warming, The Age of Stupid.

Writing on Twitter, former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott said: "So sad to hear of Pete Postlethwaite's death. Brassed Off & Age of Stupid had a real effect on me and our Government."

He is survived by his wife, Jacqui, his son Will, 21, and daughter, Lily, 14.