Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane dies at 72
Harry Potter actor Robbie Coltrane dies at 72
Robbie Coltrane, the veteran Scottish actor who gained worldwide acclaim as Rubeus Hagrid within the “Harry Potter” movie sequence, died Friday. He was 72.
Coltrane’s agent, Belinda Wright, stated in an e-mail that he died at a hospital in Scotland. She didn’t give a reason behind the loss of life.
Born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Scotland, Coltrane was in his early 20s when he started pursuing an appearing profession and renamed himself in honor of jazz musician John Coltrane. He went on to seem in dozens of movies and TV reveals, however is maybe identified greatest to “Harry Potter” followers as Hagrid, the good-natured half-giant groundskeeper of Hogwarts and a mentor to Harry as he navigated the wizarding world. He appeared in all eight “Potter” movies, launched from 2001 to 2011.
One of his most often quoted traces from the franchise got here from the primary movie when Hagrid reveals to Harry that he has magic powers and is destined to attend Hogwarts. “Yer a wizard, Harry,” he says in a heavy Scottish accent.
One other line, spoken by Harry within the first movie, additionally circulated on social media following information of Coltrane’s passing: “It is not Hogwarts without you, Hagrid.”
Coltrane first gained fame as Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald, who helped police resolve crimes within the British drama sequence “Cracker.” His flip as a prison psychologist earned him three consecutive BAFTA Awards for the greatest actor. Queen Elizabeth II appointed Coltrane with an OBE in 2006.
Different roles included a Russian crime boss within the James Bond thrillers “GoldenEye” and “The World is Not Sufficient.” Coltrane earned rave evaluations for taking part in a beloved TV star who could harbor a darkish secret within the 2016 miniseries “Nationwide Treasure.”
The actor additionally appeared in 2004’s “Ocean’s Twelve,” Rian Johnson’s “The Brothers Bloom” in 2008 and the 2012 Dickens movie adaptation “Nice Expectations,” together with voice work within the animated movies “The Story of Despereaux” (alongside “Potter” co-star Emma Watson) and “Courageous.”
Coltrane additionally joined HBO Max’s “Harry Potter twentieth Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” reunion, highlighting the way in which younger readers all around the world “fell in love” with creator J.Ok. Rowling’s writing.
“One of many causes I love J.Ok. a lot is that thousands and thousands now learn books who would have by no means lifted an ebook up of their lives,” Coltrane stated within the particular. “And also you instantly understand the ability of writing.”
Over a the previous couple of years, Rowling confronted backlash over feedback about the transgender group that conflated intercourse with gender and defended concepts suggesting that altering one’s organic intercourse threatens her personal gender identification. She has doubled down even after the posts have been extensively perceived as transphobic, misinformative and hurtful. Coltrane defended Rowling final summer season, saying those that criticized her feedback have been “ready to be offended.”
Rowling, who stated Coltrane was her first option to play Hagrid, tweeted Friday that he was “an unimaginable expertise, a whole one off … I used to be past lucky to know him, work with him and snort my head off with him,” she wrote.
