Hollywood Celebrities Remember Burt Reynolds

Hollywood is paying tribute to late acting veteran Burt Reynolds, who died Thursday aged 82.

Sylvester Stallone, who appeared alongside the iconic Smokey and the Bandit star in the Stallone-scripted Driven in 2001, remembered Reynolds with an Instagram post, recounting how the actor once told him he should have cast him in the first Rambo movie.

“I said that’s impossible, because you’re too expensive and too famous, and probably tougher than Rambo,” Stallone wrote, adding Reynolds “had a great sense of humor and I enjoyed his company so much.”

Bodybuilder-turned-movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger called Reynolds “one of my heroes” and “a trailblazer.”

“He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me,” Schwarzenegger wrote on Twitter.

Comedian Norm Macdonald, who famously and lovingly parodied ’70s-era Reynolds six separate times in the long-running Celebrity Jeopardy! sketch on Saturday Night Live, later said on The Howard Stern Show he pitched the popular skit specifically because he “wanted to do Burt Reynolds.”

“I met Burt Reynolds though, which was amazing,” Macdonald said, explaining Reynolds was “real nice to me” and “one of my childhood heroes.” In a tweet published Thursday, Macdonald wrote, “Big Burt is up in heaven slapping around little Bert.”

Macdonald’s frequent collaborator and friend Adam Sandler, who headlined 2005 football-centric comedy The Longest Yard with Reynolds, memorialized Reynolds as a “true legend” who was “funny as hell and a for-real badass.”

Baywatch and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 star David Hasselhoff hailed the “dashing, charming and just so lovable” Reynolds on Twitter as “the best, funniest super hero on this planet.”

“Burt Reynolds was a friend of mine, sad to hear of his passing,” wrote Star Wars and Batman star Billy Dee Williams on Twitter.

Family Feud and talk show host Steve Harvey remembered Reynolds as “a great actor, a philanthropist and a pioneer of the cool mustache,” while Ming-Na Wen, star of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., said the late star “will always be a Hollywood legend.”

“My condolences to his family. And to his manager, who is also mine,” Wen added. “He lost a dear friend today.”

Supergirl and The Flash director Kevin Smith called Reynolds “the movie star of my childhood,” crediting the “true American icon” for showcasing “the fun of movie-making in the end credits of his flicks.”

Reynolds was next to appear in the Quentin Tarantino-directed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but reportedly did not yet shoot his scenes, according to TMZ. The late ’60s-set drama involves the notorious Manson Family murders and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie.

Sylvester Stallone — “A sad day”

Arnold Schwarzenegger — “A trailblazer”

Billy Dee Williams — “A friend”

Patton Oswalt — “Acting lessons”

Michael Ian Black — “How do you not love that?”

Norm Macdonald — “Big Burt”

Steve Harvey — “A pioneer”

Kevin Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — “Stole our hearts”

Adam Sandler, Ming-Na Wen — “Will be missed by all”

David Hasselhoff — “Nobody was better”