Movie director Atom Egoyan has paid tribute to Irish star Liam Neeson for returning to work on the movie "Chloe,” after the sudden death of his wife Natasha Richardson in March.

Speaking at the Toronto Film Festival where Chloe premiered Sunday, Egoyan revealed how Neeson had contacted him after Natasha's death.

Neeson e-mailed the Egyptian director and said he wished to return to finish the movie straight away, as he felt it was the best thing for him to do.

"We were also so worried for Liam, and we were all very grateful when he came back and finished his job. He was a consummate professional and we are eternally grateful," said Egoyan.

Neeson was filming “Chloe” in Toronto when his wife, Natasha Richardson, suffered a head injury in a ski accident in Montreal  in March. The Irishman left the set to be by his wife’s side in a New York hospital, where she died at the age of 45.

"Chloe" producer Ivan Reitman said Natasha's tragic death affected the entire cast.

"I think the biggest impact was the human impact, the realization that life can change in an instant, that people that we love ... are here one moment and then are not,"  he said.

"It was uncomfortable and difficult ... but it didn't change the film. But it changed all of us as human beings," he continued.

“Chloe,” which stars Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfriend,  is a thriller about a doctor named Catherine (Moore) who tests her husband David’s (Neeson) fidelity by hiring a prostitute named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to tempt him and then report back his actions.