Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Death Tributes Amanda Seyfried Honors Late 'Big Love' Costar Bill Paxton in Touching Tribute: 'He Was Wonderful' Bill Paxton died of a stroke in 2017 at the age of 61 By Gabrielle Chung Published on August 20, 2021 11:47PM EDT Bill Paxton and Amanda Seyfried. Photo: Amanda Seyfried/instagram Amanda Seyfried is remembering her late Big Love costar Bill Paxton, four years after his death. The actress, 35, shared a touching tribute to her on-screen father on Friday, posting to a throwback photo of the pair on her Instagram. "Bill and me," she began in the caption. "Sorting through the thousands of photos I've packed away over the years has been mostly fun but every once in a while I find one that brings me to my knees." "I got so lucky to know this man and feel his bright, warm light so often while playing his daughter on Big Love," she continued. "He was wonderful and so deeply loved and I miss him." Bill Paxton and Amanda Seyfried. E. Charbonneau/WireImage From His Secret Passions to His Famous Roots: 13 Things You Never Knew About Bill Paxton Big Love starred Paxton as Bill Hendrickson, the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family that practices polygamy. Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin starred on the HBO series as his wives, while Seyfried played his eldest daughter during the drama's five-season run. Paxton died of a stroke on Feb. 25 2017, after complications arose during heart surgery to replace a valve and correct an aortic aneurysm. According to a death certificate, the 61-year-old actor had surgery on Feb. 14 and died 11 days later, following a stroke. In the wake of his death, Seyfried called Paxton an "amazing and supportive father-figure to me in my early career" in a statement to PEOPLE. "Incredibly inspired and full of life at every turn, he made you feel like everything was possible," she said at the time. "This is a terrible loss." Bill Paxton. Brian To/Variety/REX/Shutterstock Bella Thorne Shares Heartbreaking Tribute to Big Love TV Dad Bill Paxton: 'We Love You' Paxton had a lengthy career in Hollywood and was beloved for his roles in films like Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Tombstone (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996) and Titanic (1997). He won an Emmy in 2012 for his work in the TV mini-series Hatfields and McCoys. In the comments section of Seyfried's post on Friday, many Paxton fans continued to honor the actor. "What a beautiful and rare light that man was. My god ❤️," Aaron Paul wrote, while John Molner commented, "Big loss. ❤️."