AceShowbiz - The celebrity tributes to Pete Postlethwaite are continuing to pour in - his ex-girlfriend Julie Walters as well as actors Kevin Spacey and Simon Pegg, have all made dedications to the late star. The Oscar-nominated actor passed away at a hospital in Shropshire, England on Sunday, January 2 after a lengthy illness and Hollywood has been left in mourning.

Ben Affleck, Bill Nighy and Daniel Day-Lewis have all paid tribute to Postlethwaite - and now Walters, who dated the star in the 1970s, has shared her own memories of acting icon. She praises Postlethwaite as "the most exciting, exhilarating actor of his generation", adding, "He invented edgy. He was an exhilarating person and actor... I saw him in 'Coriolanus' and it was the most terrifying, wonderful performance I have ever seen. The audience were privileged to see it."

Meanwhile, Spacey, who starred with Postlethwaite in "The Usual Suspects", says, "He was a great man of the theater as well and carved a unique life for himself in film. He probably wasn't appreciated as much as he should have been, but I suspect that the country will come to regard him as a national treasure. For the rest of the world he was a guy we could all understand, empathise with and be frightened by. We will all treasure his performances and remember him with fondness and enormous admiration."

British funnyman Pegg wrote on Twitter.com, "Woke up to the sad news about Pete Postlethwaite. One of our finest actors. First saw him at the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) in 1986. Owned the stage he did. RIP," while British comedian James Corden wrote, "Such sad news about Pete Postlethwaite. What an actor and gentleman he was."