Hagrid from the Harry Potter films, actor Robbie Coltrane, passes away at age 72.
The baby-faced comedian and character actor Robbie Coltrane has passed away. Among his many roles were the kind-hearted half-giant Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" films and a psychologist who solves crimes on the TV show "Cracker." He was 72.
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Robbie Coltrane |
Coltrane passed away on Friday in a hospital in his native Scotland, according to his agent Belinda Wright, who did not immediately provide any other information. She praised him in a number of ways, calling him "forensically clever" and "brilliantly humorous" among others.
J.K. Rowling, who had previously stated Coltrane was her top pick to play Hagrid in "Harry Potter," tweeted on Friday that he was "an fantastic talent, a complete one off."
"I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him," she wrote.
Coltrane changed his name to John Coltrane in honor of jazz artist John Coltrane while he was in his early 20s. Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Scotland.
When he made his breakthrough as a tough detective in "Cracker," the 1990s TV series for which he won best actor at the British Academy Television Awards three times, he already had a distinguished screen career, with credits that included "Mona Lisa," "Nuns on the Run," and Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of "Henry V."
He went on to play the young wizard's mentor in all eight "Harry Potter" films, as well as a Russian crime boss in the James Bond thrillers "GoldenEye" and "The World is Not Enough," and Pip's guardian Mr. Jaggers in a 2012 adaptation of Dickens' "Great Expectations." In the 2016 miniseries "National Treasure," he received rave reviews for his performance as a beloved TV star who may be hiding a dark secret.
His "Nuns on the Run" co-star Eric Idle tweeted on Friday that he had been discussing Coltrane and "wondering where he was" when he found out of his passing.
"Such a bright and brilliant man. A consummate actor, an extraordinarily funny comedian and an amazing actor. He was also a very good friend," Idle wrote.
According to Wright, Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his former wife Rhona Gemmell, and his kids Spencer and Alice.
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