Robbie Coltrane, a Scottish actor, comedian, and writer best known for his film appearances as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series and as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in the James Bond films GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough died on Friday. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report, and his agency WME confirmed the news of his passing at age 72.
Coltrane’s Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe issued a statement that in part reads (via Variety): “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set… I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner of Azkaban, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”
One of the actor’s first major appearances was on the British sketch comedy series Alfresco, in 1983. He co-starred on the short-lived series with fellow future household name stars including Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Stephen Fry. He would later reunite with Thompson on the 1987 BBC Scotland drama Tutti Frutti–which earned him his first best actor nomination from the British Academy Television Awards.
Coltrane’s cause of death was not disclosed. The actor’s most recent on screen appearance was as himself in the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special that aired on HBO Max earlier this year.
“The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children,” Coltrane said in the special. “So you could be watching it in 50-years time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will, yes.”
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