Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, has died aged 72, his agent announced on Friday.
“My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday October 14,” Belinda Wright said in a statement, calling him “a unique talent.”
Coltrane, who was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950 in Rutherglen near Glasgow, made a career as an actor, comedian and writer.
On television, he starred opposite Emma Thompson in 1987’s cult BAFTA-winning BBC mini-series Tutti Frutti.
He gained notoriety and won further awards for his portrayal of hard-drinking criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald in the ITV series “Crackers” (1993-2006).
He was the English author and lexicographer Samuel Johnson in the TV comedy series Blackadder the Third alongside Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie (“House”).
On the big screen, he had roles in Neil Jordan’s 1987 crime drama Mona Lisa and teamed with former Monty Python star Eric Idle in the 1990 comedy Nuns on the Run.
He also played a former KGB agent turned Russian mob boss with Pierce Brosnan in two James Bond films – Goldeneye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999).
But he will be best remembered around the world as Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant, half-human gamekeeper and keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts School in the film series of JK Rowling’s best-selling Harry Potter books.
The role “has brought joy to children and adults alike around the world and has generated a torrent of fan letters every week for over 20 years,” Wright said.
She added: “Personally, I will remember him as a loyal customer.
“Not only was he a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly funny and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent I will miss him.”
Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell.
No cause of death was given, but Wright thanked the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, central Scotland “for their care and diplomacy”.
