Tony Scott, brother of fellow director Ridley Scott and the man responsible for such films as “True Romance”, “Days Of Thunder”, and “Top Gun”, is dead at age 68 after jumping from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles. His body was pulled from the water below after several people called 911 to report a man having jumped, and investigators later found a note in his car detailing who to contact. A suicide note was discovered at his office.

Scott was a man of action, keeping a frantic pace in real life as well as on the big screen. He was often slammed by critics for replacing story with fast-paced action shots, but that was simply what he lived for. He was a man who loved rock-climbing and fast vehicles, and that affinity for thrill-seeking inspired him when it came time to direct.

“I like changing the pace of my life, changing my discipline,” he said. “It gives me ideas for how to see the world differently.”

Scott was often compared to his brother–mostly in the context of second-best–when it came to directing styles. Where Ridley has always been proficient at creating dark, terrifying worlds such as those highlighted in “Alien” and “Prometheus”, Tony veered away from the psychological undercurrent of a story, preferring instead to use a barrage of images and meld them with bigger, louder, faster effects. But while his love for those things may have gotten him into trouble with the critics, his movies were mostly huge successes at the box office and steered him to the top of the Hollywood food chain fairly quickly. He became known for his work with Denzel Washington on films such as “Unstoppable”, “Crimson Tide”, and “Man On Fire”. He was well-known within the Hollywood community which lives behind the camera, and his death has been mourned by many this morning as news travels. Ron Howard, Jon Favereau, and Simon Pegg have all offered their condolences to his family on social media sites.

Tony Scott is survived by his wife, Donna, and their twin sons.