Harry Potter and Cracker actor Robbie Coltrane has died aged 72, his agent has said.
The Scottish-born actor, known for playing the Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid and criminal psychologist Dr Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald in the 1990s crime drama Cracker, died on Friday.
In a statement, his agent of 40 years, Belinda Wright, said the actor will probably be best remembered as Hagrid, which led to a “stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years”.
She described Coltrane, whose real name is Anthony Robert McMillan, as a “wonderful actor” and “forensically intelligent”.
Coltrane won best actor at the Bafta award three years running for his role in Cracker and was made an OBE in the 2006 New Year’s honours list.
His agent did not give details on his death – but said Coltrane’s family thanked the team at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care.
‘A complete one-off’
Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted an image with Coltrane and said: “I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. He was an incredible talent, a complete one off…”.
Multiple Harry Potter actors have paid tribute to Coltrane, including Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom and James Phelps, who played Fred Weasley.
Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter, said: “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.”
Phelps said he will miss the “random chats about all subjects under the sun”, with Coltrane.
Coltrane’s role in all eight of the Harry Potter film series arguably became his best known.
Stephen Fry, who starred with Coltrane in the comedy series Alfresco, said the actor will be “dreadfully missed”.
Fry said he met Coltrane almost 40 years ago and added: “Such depth, power & talent: funny enough to cause helpless hiccups & honking as we made our first TV show, ‘Alfresco'”.
‘A Scottish entertainment legend’
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described Coltrane as a “Scottish entertainment legend” and said he will be “hugely missed”.
Actor Robert Lindsay, who starred alongside Coltrane in the 1989 film Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool paid tribute to his “dear pal”, adding: “We shared a Hollywood journey that will live with me forever”.
Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell.
He was born in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire and attended Glasgow School of Art and Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh.