Robbie Coltrane was a Scottish actor who played the loveable half-giant Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” film series.
- Died: October 14, 2022 (Who else died on October 14?)
- Details of death: Died at a hospital in Larbert, Scotland at the age of 72.
- We invite you to share condolences for Robbie Coltrane in our Guest Book.
Film and TV legend
While Coltrane is best known in the U.S. for “Harry Potter,” he was already a star in the U.K. when the series debuted in 2001. He was a cast member of the British sketch comedy TV series “Alfresco” in the early 1980s, alongside Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, and Stephen Fry. He gained wider notice as the star of the cult-favorite BBC miniseries “Tutti Frutti” in 1987, and he was a breakout star in the crime drama series “Cracker.” Playing the brilliant criminal psychologist Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, Coltrane won three consecutive British Academy Television Awards for his performance.
Displaying his broad acting range, Coltrane played Falstaff in Kenneth Branagh’s “Henry V” in 1989, then followed it the next year with a starring role in the comedy “Nuns on the Run.” He played Russian mafia boss Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in two James Bond films, “GoldenEye” and “The World Is Not Enough,” and he played police sergeant George Godley in “From Hell.”
Coltrane spent more than 10 years playing Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Playing a prominent supporting role in all eight “Harry Potter” films, Coltrane was made to look more that eight feet tall with the use of forced perspective and special props. Coltrane had already been a fan of the book series and was thrilled to be a part of the films; he was a top casting choice of author J.K. Rowling.
Coltrane’s later movies include “Ocean’s 12,” “The Brothers Bloom,” and “Great Expectations. He provided the voice of Mr. Hyde in “Van Helsing” along with other voice roles in movies including “The Tale of Despereaux” and “Brave.” He appeared on an episode of “Frasier” and won several awards for his starring performance in the British miniseries “National Treasure.”
Notable quote
“The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children, so you could be watching them in 50 years’ time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will.” —from the HBO Max special “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts”
Tributes to Robbie Coltrane
Full obituary: BBC News
