Twin Peaks actor Miguel Ferrer dead at 61

Miguel Ferrer, famous for his roles in the hit TV shows Twin Peaks and NCIS, has died aged 61 at his Los Angeles home.

The actor, who played FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield on David Lynch's cult series Twin Peaks, died of cancer on Thursday.

Known for his stern, authoritarian look, Ferrer became one of Hollywood's favourite character actors in the late 1980s with his breakthrough role as the villainous Bob Morton in RoboCop.

A native of Santa Monica, California, Ferrer was the son of Academy Award-winning actor Jose Ferrer and a cousin of George Clooney.

"Today, history will mark giant changes in our world," Clooney said in a statement.

"And lost to most will be that on the same day Miguel Ferrer lost his battle to throat cancer. But not lost to his family," he added.

"Miguel made the world brighter and funnier and his passing is felt so deeply in our family that events of the day pale in comparison. We love you Miguel. We always will."

Along with his role as assistant director Owen Granger on NCIS: Los Angeles and the full six seasons of Crossing Jordan, Ferrer appeared in more than 40 movies, including Iron Man 3 and Traffic.

Reacting to word of Ferrer's death, his Twin Peaks co-star Kyle MacLachlan wrote: "Awful news…Miguel Ferrer is gone. Agent Rosenfield, I love you. RIP. -Coop."

The show's co-creator Mark frost also wrote "A death in the family: just learned we lost Miguel Ferrer today. Join me pls in sending sympathy to his wife and family."

Iron Man star Don Cheadle wrote only: "Aw, man..." - linking to a photo of the two actors on the set of Traffic.

Before becoming an actor, Ferrer was a successful studio musician who played drums in a variety of bands, and toured with his mother and Bing Crosby.

He will encore yet again as Agent Rosenfield in Showtime's revival of Twin peaks, airing this spring.

He is survived by his wife Lori and sons Lukas and Rafi.