Burt Reynolds died at age 82. Tributes pour in for Hollywood ‘legend’ and ‘trailblazer’

Burt Reynolds, whose moustache, machismo and twinkly eyes turned him into a Hollywood heartthrob, has died at the age of 82.

A spokesman for Reynolds said the actor died in Jupiter, Florida, on Thursday morning after suffering a heart attack.

Reynolds, whose good looks and charm made him one of Hollywood’s most popular actors, starred in films such as Deliverance, The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit in the 1970s and ’80s.

At the peak of his career, Reynolds was one of the most bankable actors in the film industry, reeling off a series of box office smashes until a career downturn in the mid-1980s.

He starred in more than 80 films, including his The Longest Yard, Smokey and the Bandit, and Boogie Nights, for which he won an Oscar nomination, but he claimed to have turned down an offer to be James Bond in 1970.

His heartthrob status even led to him posing naked for Cosmopolitan in 1972 – a strategically positioned arm preserving his modesty.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was among the Hollywood stars to pay tribute. “ He was a trailblazer,” he said. “He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me.”

Reynolds, whose hopes of becoming a professional American football player were dashed by a string of injuries, had starred in TV shows such as Gunsmoke and Dan August before landing the role of Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, which proved to be his breakout performance.

He always said it was one of his best films, and later talked about the way the film’s infamous rape scene may have helped men better understand the horror of sexual attacks. “It was the only time I saw men get up, sick, and walk out of a theatre,” he said years later.

Many of his subsequent films were set in the South and showcased his strength playing lovable rascals who outwit the authorities, such as the 1977 action comedy Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels.

But he claimed to have turned down a string of high-profile roles including James Bond, Han Solo in Star Wars and John McClane in Die Hard.

He often said he would rather enjoy himself than push his acting abilities to their limit. “I didn’t open myself to new writers or risky parts because I wasn’t interested in challenging myself as an actor.

I was interested in having a good time,” he wrote in his 2015 memoir, But Enough About Me. “As a result, I missed a lot of opportunities to show I could play serious roles. By the time I finally woke up and tried to get it right, nobody would give me a chance.”