Tom Cruise has payed his respects to the late Paul Newman, who died of cancer on Friday, in a moving eulogy.

The tribute - which will appear in an upcoming issue of People magazine - is Tom's own personal account of the film legend.

The actor shared on-screen time with Paul in the Oscar-winning Color of Money in 1986, and the pair went onto become good friends as well as co-stars.

The Top Gun star writes, “He was bigger than life to me. But he always had a way of putting us all at ease.

"He called me 'Cruiser' or sometimes 'Kid'. We would grab time to hang out whenever we could find it."

In the closing paragraph Tom adds, "His life will forever inspire me. The world has lost an icon; I have lost an idol."