Alan Rickman has been remembered fondly by his co-star in the sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, which was released 25 years ago.

Justin Long made his big screen debut in the flick playing Brandon, while Harry Potter legend Alan played Sir Alexander Dane. Reflecting on the shooting of the film Justin posted an image on Instagram of him, Alan and Jeremy Howard, who also appeared in the movie smiling at a party Alan hosted for the entire cast and crew.

Captioning it he remembered Alan writing: “Galaxy Quest was released 25 years ago! It was my first time on a movie set, my first time in LA, one of my first plane rides, and my first time meeting Sam Rockwell.

"This photo of me, Alan Rickman and Jeremy Howard (who played my friend in the movie and could blow s*** up with his mind in Accepted) was taken at a party that Alan threw for everyone in the cast and crew.

"I’d formed an idea of who Alan Rickman might be based solely on the incredible performances I’d seen him give as villains in movies like Die Hard and Robin Hood - my experience with him as a person was the exact opposite of that…he was so kind, generous, and yes, dry (VERY dry) but in such a playful spirited way," he recalled.

"I think about him often and when I look back on that experience a quarter century later, one of the greatest gifts that came from it was getting to know and work with an actor like Alan. And Sam. I now know how rare they are,"he said.

He revealed he had very few pictures of "that wonderfully exciting time" before phone cameras and thanked co-star Jeremy for sending him the image of "one of the all time greatest actors (and people) kindly obliging two giddy young actors who were just embarking on a fun and wildly fulfilling 25 year adventure."

Justin's fans were quick to flood the comments to share their love for the movie and also lament the fact they miss the late Alan Rickman, who died of pancreatic cancer on January 14 2016 aged 69.

"Wow! What a tribute to one of the most special films ever made, and a truly remarkable actor," one wrote.

"Seriously, 25 years already? Geez, seems like yesterday, and i so miss Alan," another added.

"Legendary movie. Alan is deeply missed," a third chimed in. "Just amazing. Love that film. Alan is soooo missed," a fourth agreed.

"One of my ALL TIME favorite movies. You can not beat being in anything with Sam Rockwell and Alan Rickman. Legends," another gushed.

Meanwhile a sixth commented: "What a great movie. What great actors. Such a cast. And, always Rest In Peace, Alan"