Ridley Scott got "very close" to his brother Tony Scott before his death.

However, the 'Alien' director is grateful that he had spent a lot of time with Tony before the tragedy occurred due to the 'Top Gun' creator's lengthy battle with brain cancer - something the family kept secret.

Speaking about his brother's "inexplicable" death publicly for the first time, Ridley told Variety: "Tony had been very unwell, actually, and that's the moment I realised I had to get very close to him again, though we were always close."

Ridley - whose older brother Frank died from skin cancer in 1980 at the age of 45 - misses Tony everyday but has so many fond memories of him, including their impromptu drinking sessions when he was being treated for his cancer.

He said: "I miss a friend. I'd go to him even when he was doing his recovery, and I'd say, 'F**k the chemo, have a Vodka Martini,' and he and I would go out."

Ridley ends his new film 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' - which is out in December - with a dedication to his younger brother Tony.