Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Paxton are being hailed as “shapeshifters” by director Jan De Bont.

The pair were cast by 80-year-old filmmaker Jan in his 1996 blockbuster ‘Twister’, and he has now paid tribute to their talents after Bill was killed by a stroke following heart surgery aged 61 in 2017 – three years after troubled Philip died aged 46 from a drugs overdose.

Ahead of the premiere of the long-awaited sequel to ‘Twister’ – titled ‘Twisters’ – Jan told The Hollywood Reporter: “Those two were basically the shapeshifters of that group, and they helped make a group of really amazing people feel as if they had worked together for a really long time.

“It’s unique to get that feeling on the screen.”

Bill played Bill Harding in ‘Twister’ – a storm chaser who with his wife, played by Helen Hunt, 61, seek out tornadoes while trying to create an advanced weather alert system.

Philip played Dustin Davis, one of the storm chasers on their daredevil crew.

Jan, who also made ‘Speed’ with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, both 59, said the ‘Twister’ cast eventually “became such a team” similar to their characters in the film.

He said he hoped the cast would be “relaxed” around each other, and have “quick-witted banter” off-screen, which he says “did happen” thanks partly to Philip.

Jan went on: “Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was really laid back, was one of the people who contributed the most for that to happen.

“He was so completely ready to make a character for himself in the movie.

“In the script, he was in a lot of pages, but there were very few scenes with him on his own or with somebody else.

“So he created a character almost from day one, and everybody was surprised by that.

“What was also amazing was how witty he was. He could create such a light tone and humour that it would relax all the other team members.”

He said Bill was “high-energy” and “loved stepping in the middle of an action scene”, saying: “He loved really dangerous things. He loved getting other people involved as a group.

“So, slowly but surely, they all came together, and that was so nice to see happen.”

‘Twisters’, starring Glen Powell, 35, Anthony Ramos, 32, and Daisy Edgar-Jones, 26, as a new set of storm chasers is out in cinemas on 19 July.