Jennifer Connelly says David Bowie "became a real hero" of hers after they did 'Labyrinth' together.

Jennifer Connelly

Jennifer Connelly

The 48-year-old actress shot to fame starring in Jim Henson's 1986 cult classic alongside the late music legend - in which she played Sarah, a teenager on a quest to rescue her brother Toby from the world of goblins - but she didn't realise until after they shot the movie just how "cool" it was to work with the 'Starman' hitmaker, as she was only a teenager at the time.

During her appearance on 'The Graham Norton Show' on Friday (01.02.19), the former child model admitted: "I wasn't cool enough to get what working with him really meant.

"It was probably a good thing that I wasn't.

"After working with him, he became a real hero of mine because he was so kind to me - I was a 14-year-old kid and knew nothing."

The 'Hulk' star says Bowie - who died in January 2016, at the age of 69, following a secret battle with cancer - was "funny" and "gracious" on set and ever since they worked together she has loved his music.

She added: "He was funny and gracious and made me feel so comfortable. He was amazing. Subsequently I became a huge fan of his music."

Jennifer's next role sees her portray Chiren in 'Alita: Battle Angel' and she confessed she's only just got around to watching the film back - but teased it's "extraordinary" and praised the team for transforming it with technology.

She said: "I only saw the movie a couple of days ago and it is pretty epic. It's really impressive. With a movie like that we do the things we have to do and then we leave and a year later you see a film that has had so much work put into it.

"It's extraordinary what they can do with technology and it blew me away."

'The Graham Norton Show' airs on BBC One tonight (01.02.19) from 10.35pm.