"He was more than my director, he was family."
Kate Hudson is certainly feeling the loss of director Garry Marshall, whom she's known since childhood.
The 37-year-old actress took to Instagram to share a lengthy tribute to the Pretty Woman director, who died on Tuesday from complications of pneumonia. Hudson recalls Marshall's kindness to her when she would visit her mother, Goldie Hawn, and her "pa," Kurt Russell, on the set of his 1987 film, Overboard, and how the two recently shared an emotional moment together when he directed her in Mother's Day.
"Garry and I were shooting Mother's Day this past year [and] my children came to visit the set," she recalls. "I was behind a wall about to do a scene waiting for the very words that every working actor is quite used to -- 'and....ACTION!' Much to my pleasant surprise, the voice booming from behind the wall was my son, Ryder. I couldn't help but smile, and after we finished the scene, both Garry and I shared a moment. We knew in an instant that so many things come full circle. That once upon a time that was me on his lap yelling, 'ACTION' for my mother and pa on Overboard in 1987. That, in Garry's words in that moment, 'The circle of life is an amazing thing isn't it...'
WATCH: Legendary Director Garry Marshall Dead at 81
"In that moment he was more than my director, he was family," she continues. "That moment meant way more than any success of any film. I looked around the set and saw faces I had known and seen since I was a little girl. In one flash of a moment there was so much recognition of how loyal, wonderful, kind, generous, funny and profound Garry was. He kept his loved ones close, he loved people, he loved making movies, he loved to laugh, he loved loved loved. And those of us who were fortunate to know him like this were so lucky."
Hudson talked to ET about that very emotional moment involving Marshall and her 12-year-old son, Ryder, in April, in an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip.
"When I was on Overboard as a kid, [Garry] likes to let the kids yell out 'action' or 'rolling,' and I remember being that little kid on his set," she explained. "Now I watch Ryder and he's sitting with Garry, and he's yelling out, and we both sort of had a bit of an emotional moment and Garry sort of went, 'Life.'"
In her Instagram post on Wednesday, Hudson also recalls working with Marshall on 2004's Raising Helen.
"Once while shooting Raising Helen, I was reaching for a laugh. I didn't feel that a scene was going right and I wasn't hitting the joke and I was incredibly frustrated," she admits. "He came over to me and gently held my hand and said, 'Kate, sometimes we don't need to laugh, sometimes making us smile is even more important.'"
"Garry wanted to see the world smile because he knew we all need more of that," she adds. "To everyone in the Garry Marshall family, I love you all so much. I will miss you Garry ❤ I love you."
Hawn also paid tribute to Marshall on Instagram on Wednesday, sharing a photo of the director with both her and Hudson.
"Our beloved Garry Marshall has passed today," Hawn wrote. "Our family will miss him so much. His humor, his humanity, and his love. Thank you for Overboard. Thank you for being such a special human. Rest in peace, dear one."
Watch the video below to go behind-the-scenes of Marshall's iconic Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts, who was just 21 at the time!