Natalie Portman’s tribute to John Hurt

Natalie Portman has praised John Hurt for his incredible performance in "Jackie" saying she was impressed by his willingness to learn. The 35-year-old actress was left devastated by the passing of the actor, who died of pancreatic cancer last week.

"John was such an incredible human being, very kind, easy to work with. We were shooting in really cold weather, doing difficult, very long takes, where he had a lot of dialogue. He was doing an Irish accent. He was just so good-natured and funny.

Hurt essayed the role of a priest in the Jackie Kennedy biopic. "The things he would come up with on his own between takes, Pablo (Larrain, director) would say, 'That's better than what we have, just say that," Portman said.