TORONTO – Drew Barrymore says she met Patrick Swayze when she was seven years old and is “shell-shocked” to hear about his death.
The actress is at the Toronto International Film Festival promoting her directorial debut, “Whip It.”
Barrymore, who worked with the actor on the 2001 film “Donnie Darko,” learned about Swayze’s death during a news conference.
She said he was “the nicest man that one could ever, ever, ever know.”
Barrymore said Swayze was a hero to her and her friends because of his work in the 1983 teen film “The Outsiders.”
Swayze died Monday at age 57 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
