Darius Campbell Danesh’s best pal Gerard Butler has told how he is “devastated” after the death of his “brother in arms”.

The Scottish singer’s body was found at his apartment in Minnesota, US on Tuesday and the cause of his death is not yet known.

His Hollywood pal, 51, paid tribute to Darius, saying he was driven to “inspire others to better themselves,” as he shared a recent picture on Instagram of the pair smiling in Malibu, US.

READ MORE:Will Young pays tribute to 'gentle' Pop Idol co-star Darius Campbell Danesh after death

Butler, who played the Spartan king in hit film 300, wrote: “To those lucky enough to have met Darius for more than a few minutes, they were deeply moved by his infectious laugh and barely containable zest for life.

“He was always armed with a smile, a booming voice, and a genuinely warm embrace that few could resist-nor would they want to!!!

“He was an incredible talent, a singer whose voice touched your soul and an actor with great presence.

“But, most importantly, he had the heart of a lion. It was bigger and brighter than the sun and an energy so contagious he could light up a room in seconds.”

Meanwhile Will Young, who pipped Darius to a place in the finals of Pop Idol in 2002, described the singer as “driven, courageous and gentle on Instagram” as he shared a sweet picture of the pair with their arms around each other taken during the show.

Young, 43, said: “For the past few days my thoughts have been with Darius’s family and will continue to be so.”

“I found this picture a while ago taken during Pop Idol. If there was ever an example of not giving up on your dreams then Darius is top of the pile.”

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Darius’ family said in a statement he was “found unresponsive” in bed in his apartment room on August 11 and police confirmed there were “no signs of intent or suspicious circumstances”.

Despite Darius missing out on victory in Pop Idol, his debut single Colourblind, released in July 2002, went straight to number one and he also had a string of other top 10 hits.

Colourblind was re-released on Wednesday morning and is No1 in the iTunes download chart.

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