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Elijah Wood, Sam Neill and More Mourn Star Wars ' Andrew Jack, Who Died of Coronavirus Complications

Hollywood is paying tribute to the late Andrew Jack.

On Tuesday, the actor, 76 — who had roles in the Star Wars films and worked as a dialect coach on the Lord of the Rings film series and other big screen projects — died due to complications from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). His wife, fellow dialect coach–to-the-stars Gabrielle Rogers, was unable to be with him due to quarantine protocols, a rep for Jack told the Evening Standard.

Rogers shared news of her husband’s passing on Twitter, writing: “We lost a man today. Andrew Jack was diagnosed with Coronavirus 2 days ago. He was in no pain, and he slipped away peacefully knowing that his family were all ‘with’ him.”

Several stars replied to her tweet, sharing their sympathies in the wake of the tragedy.

Actor Sam Claflin, who worked with Jack on 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, wrote: “An incredible man with such an incredible talent. Genuinely broken hearted to hear this. Sending love and strength to all.”

Sam Neill also spoke highly of Jack, who he collaborated with on 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. “I am stricken to hear this. A lovely man Andrew, and a joy to work with,” wrote the actor, to which Rogers replied, “Thank you Sam: he loved working with you.”

LOTR cast members Elijah Wood and Sean Astin also reacted to the news, with Astin, 49, sharing that Jack “made a mean curry … was powerful & gentle in equal measure.”

“So heartbreaking to learn that Andrew Jack has passed away. He, along with Roisin Carty, lead all of us through the many accents of Middle-Earth,” tweeted Wood, 39. “He was a kind and lovely human being. My love to his family and friends.”

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Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise, said Jack was a “joy to be with” on set.

“I had a good day today. Then I heard Andrew Jack had been killed by the C.Virus,” Daniels, 74, tweeted. “He was a joy to be with on the new trilogy. As dialect coach, he helped the cast get it right through his talent and humour. As an actor, his distinguished features made him stand out in any scene.”

Christopher Miller, an executive producer on the 2018 Star Wars prequel Solo, shared an anecdote from the set of the movie about Jack helping star Alden Ehrenreich talk in a fictional language specific to the sci-fi universe.

“We asked him to teach Alden to speak Shyriiwook, and I’ll always remember listening to them gargle-roar at each other back and forth,” Miller tweeted.

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Keith Hamshere Andrew Jack

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The U.K. native was most recently hired to be the dialect coach on Matt Reeves’ The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader. Production for the film is now on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Andrew was a legend, and such a kind man,” wrote the director on Twitter. “We are all absolutely heartbroken. Our hearts go out to his family. Rest in peace, Andrew…”

As a dialect coach, Jack worked closely with Robert Downey Jr. on multiple films, including the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film and this year’s Dolittle. He also served as dialect coach on various Marvel films, including Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The First Avenger, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

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