Jude Law, and other celebrities are speaking out on the untimely death of director Anthony Minghella. Jude and Anthony worked together on The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, and Breaking and Entering.

"I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Anthony’s untimely death. I worked with him on three films, more than with any other director, but had come to value him more as a friend than as a colleague. He was a brilliantly talented writer and director who wrote dialogue that was a joy to speak and then put it onto the screen in a way that always looked effortless. He made work feel like fun. He was a sweet, warm, bright and funny man who was interested in everything from football to opera, films, music, literature, people and most of all his family whom he adored and to whom I send my thoughts and love. I shall miss him hugely." – Jude Law

“I’m devastated, there is really no way to put it into words. He was a gift to the world.” – Nicole Kidman

"He was incredibly talented and so interested in art and making the world better for art. He was very specific and very loving. He was very sweet to his actors. He would kind of massage everybody while he was talking – very tactile and warm.” – Gwyneth Paltrow

“Anthony possessed a sensitivity and alertness to the actor’s process that very few directors have. He directed most of The English Patient with an ankle in plaster, never losing his gentle humor and precision. He delighted in the contribution of everyone – he was a true collaborator. His films deal with extreme aloneness and the redemptive power of love, even at the moment of death. I will remember him as a man who always wanted to get to the heart of the matter.” – Ralph Fiennes

Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella, who turned such literary works as "The English Patient," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain" into acclaimed movies, has died. He was only 54.

Minghella’s death was confirmed Tuesday by his agent, Judy Daish.

A spokesman for the director said he suffered a brain hemorrhage at 5 A.M. Tuesday morning at Charing Cross Hospital in London, where he had undergone a routine operation on his neck.