Robbie Coltrane, known for role as Hagrid in 'Harry Potter' films, dies at 72
Robbie Coltrane, the Scottish actor known for playing Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" films, has died at the age of 72.
"My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday, October 14," Coltrane's agent, Belinda Wright, said in a statement. "Robbie was a unique talent, sharing the Guinness Book of Records' Award for winning three consecutive Best Actor BAFTAs for his portrayal of Fitz in Granada TV's series 'Cracker' in 1994, 1995 and 1996 with Sir Michael Gambon."
"He will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, a role which brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years," Wright added. "James Bond fans write too to applaud his role in 'GoldenEye' and 'The World Is Not Enough.' "
"For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client. 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," she said.
Coltrane, whose birth name is Anthony Robert McMillan, was born on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, United Kingdom, to Jean Ross Howie and Ian Baxter McMillan.
He began acting in his early 20s and took on the stage name Coltrane, a nod to jazz musician John Coltrane. He starred in theater productions like John Byrne's "The Slab Boys" before moving into British film roles such as "Flash Gordon," "Death Watch" and more.
In the '90s, Coltrane starred in the TV series "Cracker," where he played a forensic psychologist named Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald, winning three BAFTA awards for his portrayal, as Wright noted Friday.
He notably portrayed the character Valentin Zukovsky in the James Bond films "GoldenEye" and "The World is Not Enough," and had a prominent role in the 2001 period slasher film "From Hell," but it was Coltrane's role as Rubeus Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" movies that made him a beloved household name across the globe.
Coltrane brought the fictional character -- from J.K. Rowling's iconic book series of the same name -- to life in 2001 for "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," and continued to play Hagrid for 10 years until the films ended in 2011 with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2."
"It's the end of an era. Ten years of my life," Coltrane said during HBO Max's "Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts" reunion in January. "My children have grown up during it."
"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 years time, easily. I'll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will, yes," he added.
In 2016, Coltrane, who had been struggling with osteoarthritis, opened up to The Daily Star about his battle with the disease and that he had an "exploratory operation," in which doctors found he had no cartilage left in one of his knees.
"I'm in constant pain all day," he said at the time. "People are probably wondering why I'm hobbling about in the way I am and that is why."
Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice, and ex-wife Rhona Gemmell, the mother of his children.
