Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon pay tribute as Jean-Marc Vallée found dead

Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman have paid tribute to Big Little Lies director Jean-Marc Vallée, who was found dead at his Canadian cabin.

Director and producer Jean-Marc Vallée, who won an Emmy for directing the hit HBO series Big Little Lies and whose 2013 drama Dallas Buyers Club earned multiple Oscar nominations, has died. He was 58.

His representative Bumble Ward said Sunday that Vallée died suddenly in his cabin outside Quebec City, Canada, over the weekend, reported The New York Post.

Sources told Deadline that Vallée is believed to have died of a heart attack, and was likely to have died on Christmas Day although he was only found the following morning.

Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon has expressed her sadness at the news, tweeting: “My heart is broken.”

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My heart is broken. My friend. I love you. https://t.co/dvh63E8K7I

— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) December 27, 2021

And fellow Big Little Lies star Nicole Kidman has today paid tribute to Vallée, describing him as the “centre of her creative universe.”

Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee has died aged 58. Picture: AFP

“It’s hard to imagine someone as vital, energetic and present as Jean-Marc being gone. I‘m shattered. He was at the centre of my creative universe and I can’t overstate his significance to me,” she wrote on Instagram today.

“ Jean-Marc was not only responsible for some of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career, but his friendship, kindness and love were an inspiring force I will carry with me. I will always cherish those nights filming above the crashing waves of Big Sur… It doesn’t get better than that. I am forever grateful for my time shared with this extraordinary human.”

Vallée was acclaimed for his naturalistic approach to filmmaking, directing stars including Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal over the past decade.

Reese Witherspoon: “My heart is broken.” Picture: Getty

He directed Emily Blunt in 2009′s The Young Victoria and became a sought-after name in Hollywood after Dallas Buyers Club featuring Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, earned six Academy Awards nominations, including best picture.

He often shot with natural light and handheld cameras and gave actors freedom to improvise the script and move around within a scene’s location. The crew roamed up and down the Pacific Coast Trail to shoot Witherspoon in 2014′s Wild.

Jean-Marc Vallee with Big Little Lies stars Laura Dern (left) and Nicole Kidman (right). Picture: AFP

“They can move anywhere they want,” the Canadian filmmaker said of his actors in a 2014 interview with The Associated Press. “It’s giving the importance to storytelling, emotion, characters. I try not to interfere too much. I don’t need to cut performances. Often, the cinematographer and I were like, ‘This location sucks. It’s not very nice. But, hey, that’s life.’”

He re-teamed with Witherspoon to direct the first season of Big Little Lies in 2017, and directed Adams in 2018′s Sharp Objects also for HBO. Vallée won DGA awards for both.

Originally published as Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon pay tribute as Jean-Marc Vallée found dead