Robbie Coltrane, actor who played Hagrid in Harry Potter films, dead at 72

Actor Robbie Coltrane, who played the role of beloved half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, died on Friday at age 72.

Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright announced the actor’s death in a statement, saying that the “unique talent” had passed at a Larbert, Scotland, hospital.

“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 wrote, according to the BBC.

Wright said Coltrane, who also starred in the TV series “Cracker” and had supporting roles in the James Bond movies “GoldenEye” and “The World Is Not Enough,” “brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world” during his time as an actor.

Coltrane, whose real name is Anthony Robert McMillan, is survived by his children Spencer and Alice MacMillan and their mother Rhona Gemmell, as well as his older sister Annie Rae McMillan.

“They would like to thank the medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert for their care and diplomacy,” wrote Wright.

She continued: “Please respect Robbie’s family’s privacy at this distressing time.”

Harry Potter costar Daniel Radcliffe released a statement obtained by the BBC in response to Coltrane’s death, calling him “one of the funniest people I’ve met.”

“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,” he continued.

“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”

The author of the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling, also weighed in on the passing of Coltrane, whom she described as an “incredible talent” and a “complete one off.”

“I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again,” she said, remembering times when she would “laugh my head off with him.”