Robbie Coltrane, Actor Behind Harry Potter’s Hagrid, Dead at 72
Robbie Coltrane, a long-time Scottish-born comic and actor — best known for his popular roles in the British crime series Cracker and the Harry Potter movie franchise — has passed, his agency WME just confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
He was 72 years old.
The cause of death wasn’t immediately disclosed.
“For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client,” the star’s agent, Belinda Wright, said in statement to the Press Association.
“As well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.”
Coltrane won three consecutive British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for Best Actor due to his work on Cracker, on which he portrayed a foul-mouthed, hard-drinking, gambling-addicted forensic psychologist.
He also appeared as the villain Valentin Zukovsky in two James Bond films, GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough.
For his turn as Hagrid, the adorable groundskeeper at Hogwarts, Coltrane appeared in every Harry Potter movie.
During his appearance on Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, the actor grew emotional when talking about what Hagrid meant to him.
“It’s the end of an era. Ten years of my life. My children have grown up during it,” he said at the event.
“The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children …
“So you could be watching it in 50 year’s time, easily … I’ll not be here, sadly … but Hagrid will, yes.”
In 2019, Coltrane reprised his role as Hagrid in the fantasy short film Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
Elsewhere, the late star penned an autobiography, Coltrane in a Cadillac, and also starred in a teelvision series of the same name in 1993… where he drove across America from Los Angeles to New York City in a classic 1951 Cadillac vehicle.
In the 1980s, Coltrane appeared in a short-lived sketch series called “Alfresco” alongside major names Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.
On Friday, Fry honored his former co-star in a statement shared to Twitter.
“I first met Robbie Coltrane almost exactly 40 years ago. I was awe/terror/love struck all at the same time. Such depth, power & talent: funny enough to cause helpless hiccups & honking as we made our first TV show, Alfresco.
“Farewell, old fellow.”
We send our condolences to the friends, family members and loved ones of Robbie Coltrane.
May he rest in peace.