The British actor became friends with the rapper when he appeared opposite him in 1997 movie Gridlock'd, but the hip-hop star died the year before its release when he was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Roth admits Shakur still had some work to do on the film at the time of his death, telling fans in a chat on Reddit.com, "The day that he was shot, he was on his way (to work), he had seen the Tyson fight (Mike Tyson's boxing bout with Bruce Seldon), he was supposed to do some additional voice work on the movie.

"We had our fingers crossed that he would survive in the hospital, but it was the surgery that got him in the end. He was young and rash but also brilliant and I adored him."

The actor goes on to reveal Shakur's mother struggled to pay for the rapper's funeral after his death, and Roth was among those who contributed money to cover the costs.

"They couldn't afford a funeral for him. The (record) deal that he had done even though he was double platinum, he didn't have a dime to show for it. So we were passing the hat around for his costs," Roth adds.