LONDON – “So you could be watching it in 50 years time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but... but Hagrid will, yes.”
Those touching words coming from Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane during a Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion documentary released earlier this year.
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Coltrane, who played a crime-solving psychologist on TV series “Cracker” and the half-giant Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 72.
His agent, Belinda Wright, said he died Friday at a hospital in Scotland. She did not give a cause.
Coltrane came to fame as a hard-bitten detective in the 1990s series “Cracker,” for which he won best actor at the British Academy Television Awards three years running.
He played gentle half-giant Hagrid, a mentor to the boy wizard, in all eight Harry Potter films, released between 2001 and 2011.
His supporting character came with a big personality, and a lot of heart.
Harry Potter movie fans will remember the moments they watched him fly across London on his magical flying motorbike. His character taught the fans to love nature, and treat animals with kindness. To be loyal, and stand by your friends. Most of all, Robbie Coltrane’s Hagrid stood up for what was right, even when faced with great opposition.
Coltrane’s other roles include a Russian crime boss in the James Bond thrillers “GoldenEye” and “The World is Not Enough.”
He gained rave reviews for playing a beloved TV star who may harbor a dark secret in the 2016 miniseries “National Treasure.”
Wright said that “as well as being a wonderful actor, he was forensically intelligent, brilliantly witty and after 40 years of being proud to be called his agent, I shall miss him.”
Wright said Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his ex-wife Rhona Gemmell and his children Spencer and Alice.