Robbie Coltrane, Best Known for His Role as Hagrid in the ‘Harry Potter’ Series, Dead at 72
Robbie Coltrane, best known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in all eight Harry Potter films, has died. He was 72.
Coltrane’s agent and friend Belinda Wright confirmed the news to PEOPLE, sharing that he died Friday and calling the actor “a unique talent.”
“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 continued in part.
“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,” she added. “And after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.”
While the actor’s cause of death was not immediately apparent, Deadline reports that he “had been in ill health for the past two years,” and died in Larbert, Scotland, in a hospital close to his home.
In addition to the eight Potter films, Coltrane appeared in movies like 2004’s Ocean’s Twelve and the James Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999), as well as on the television series Cracker. Coltrane had 114 lifetime screen-acting credits over a career that spanned more than four decades, according to his IMDB page.
He also received several accolades over his career, including multiple British Academy Television Awards and BAFTA Awards. He was also appointed an OBE in 2006, by Queen Elizabeth.
Coltrane’s half-giant Harry Potter character Hagrid, the Hogwarts keeper of keys and grounds, is the first person Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) meets from the Wizarding World on his 11th birthday before setting off to Hogwarts, and becomes a mentor of sorts for the boy wizard.
In the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which aired on HBO Max earlier this year, Coltrane emotionally reflected on his time as Hagrid in the films, which were released between 2001 and 2011.
“I just think it’s an end of an era. It’s 10 years of my life, my children have grown up during it,” he said.
“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, easy,” he continued in the special.
“I’ll not be here sadly, but Hagrid will. Yes,” Coltrane added.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling posted a tribute to Coltrane on Twitter Friday, writing alongside a photo of the pair, “I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again.”
“He was an incredible talent, a complete one off, and I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him,” added Rowling, 57. “I send my love and deepest condolences to his family, above all his children.”
Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae; his two children, Alice and Spencer; and Alice and Spencer’s mother, Rhona Gemmell.
“They would like to thank the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care and diplomacy,” Wright tells PEOPLE. “Please respect Robbie’ s family’s privacy at this distressing time.”
