Francis Ford Coppola Monday paid tribute to his longtime collaborator and friend Robert Duvall, who died Sunday at 95. Coppola shared a message on Instagram honouring the Oscar-winning actor and reflecting on their decades-long creative partnership.

“What a blow to learn of the loss of Robert Duvall,” Coppola wrote alongside a series of pictures with the late actor. “Such a great actor and such an essential part of American Zoetrope from its beginning: The Rain People, The Conversation, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now, THX 1138, Assassination Tango”.

Coppola and Duvall worked together on seven films over the course of their careers: The Rain People (1969), THX 1138 (1971), The Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974), The Godfather Part II (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979) and Assassination Tango (2002).

Duvall’s co-stars from The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, also issued statements Monday remembering the actor.

“It was an honor to have worked with Robert Duvall. He was a born actor as they say, his connection with it, his understanding and his phenomenal gift will always be remembered. I will miss him,” Pacino said in a statement shared to Variety.

“God bless Bobby. I hope I can live till I’m 95. May he rest in peace,” De Niro said.

Tributes from across Hollywood poured in following news of Duvall’s death. Viola Davis wrote on Instagram that it was an “honour” to act alongside Duvall in the 2018 thriller Widows.

“I was in awe,” Davis added, “I’ve always been in awe of your towering portrayals of men who were both quiet and dominating in their humanness. You were a giant… an icon… Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tender Mercies, The Apostle, Lonesome Dove… etc… Greatness never dies. It stays… as a gift. Rest well, sir. Your name will be spoken… May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

Michael Keaton, who starred with Duvall in Ron Howard’s 1994 workplace comedy The Paper, also shared a tribute on Instagram.

“Another friend goes down. Acted with and became friends. Shared a great afternoon on my front porch talking about horses. He was greatness personified as an actor. RIP RD.”

Among Bollywood celebrities, Anupam Kher paid tribute to the Hollywood icon. “Robert Duvall was the kind of actor who never needed noise to command attention. Quiet, precise, and profoundly truthful, he brought an extraordinary depth to every role he inhabited. For me, he was always one of the favourites — not because he sought the spotlight, but because he never needed to,” he wrote.

Duvall’s death was announced in a statement by his wife, Luciana Duvall, who said he died at home.