Bill Nighy 'proud' to stand in for Alan Rickman in new film The Limehouse Golem

Actor Bill Nighy attends the 'Pride' Post-Screening Event Presented By Audi Canada at The Citizen during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. Photo / Getty

Bill Nighy has said he was "proud" to fill a role intended for the late Alan Rickman in his latest film, The Limehouse Golem.

Rickman, who died of pancreatic cancer in January aged 69, was forced to pull out of the film, an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's 1994 murder mystery novel.

Actor/filmmaker Alan Rickman died in January, 2016. Photo / Getty

Nighy, 66, who has stepped into the role of police inspector John Kildare, who investigates a series of killings in Victorian London, told the Press Association at the Toronto International Film Festival that he "didn't have any reservations (about taking on the part)".

A still from The Limehouse Golem, which has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Photo / The Telegraph UK

"I was very proud to be considered in those terms. I knew Alan reasonably well and I was a great admirer, like everyone else who came into contact with him.

"At the time we didn't really know how ill he was indisposed. Obviously it was a great loss to everybody."

Nighy, who starred in Love Actually and Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, said he was a fan of superhero movies but believed there was an increasing market for smaller films.

"I think the market will get bigger and bigger because of the way of the digital revolution, people are just going to need more stuff," he said.

(L-R) Actors Bill Nighy, Olivia Cooke and Douglas Booth attend the Premier of The Limehouse Golem at Ryerson Theatre on September 10, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. Photo / Getty

"People will always want other kinds of stories. I like all those superhero movies. I like all those blockbusters, I'm for everything if it's any good."

The Limehouse Golem had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, which runs until September 18.