Speaking on Film 4 about his career, Tony Scott once said:
"I love reaching in and touching these worlds I've never touched before...it's fun, it's exciting."
He described his artistic background: "I was a painter - I spent eight years at art school painting, and I still think like a painter. Directing is very similar."
"There's a lot of people out there that influence me - my brother had a huge influence, Ridley's a little older than I am and I helped him make his first movie," he said.
Born in North Shields, his north-eastern accent is still audible despite having lived and worked in California for decades.
In this BFI archive footage, a young Tony Scott is seen starring in his brother Ridley's very first film, Boy and Bicycle, shot when still a student at the Royal College of Art.
Scott will be 'remembered as one of the ultimate action directors'
Film critic James King said the industry had been left in shock by Scott's death, adding that the director would be remembered for his "edge-of-your-seat thrillers".
He told Sky News:
Go buy his films, watch his films, and you'll see an incredibly confident director, so for that person to have taken their own life just seems utterly bizarre.
I think he'll be remembered as one of the ultimate action directors. He wasn't ashamed by that.
Maybe some critics had a go at him because his films weren't intellectually challenging. But when they looked as good as they did, who cares? They were incredibly stylish.
Tony Scott's body was recovered from Los Angeles Harbour water several hours after members of the public called police at around 12:35pm local time (7.30pm BST) to report that someone had jumped from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, the Associated Press reports.
The reports adds that a note with contact information was found in Scott's car and a suicide note was later found in his office.
Mark Romanek directed feature films Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo as well as numerous music videos for the likes of Coldplay, Madonna, David Bowie and Michael Jackson:
Tony Scott was incredibly encouraging to me at an early stage of my career. He was generous, gregarious & immensely talented. Sadness.
Edgar Wright is a British film director, writer and producer whose credits include Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Tintin:
I just woke up to hear about Tony Scott. Can't believe it. As I hope was evident in my work, I was big fan of his. Rest In Peace, sir.
