Robbie Coltrane, Gone at 72

HARRY POTTER and the PHILOSOPHER’S STONE –

Oct. 14, 2022 – On Friday, Fry honored his former co-star in a statement posted to Twitter.

“I first met Robbie Coltrane almost exactly 40 years ago. I was awe/terror/love struck all at the same time. Such depth, power & talent: funny enough to cause helpless hiccups & honking as we made our first TV show, ‘Alfresco,’” he wrote. “Farewell, old fellow. “If you’re an actor, you have to do the voices. The children expect it. No monotones allowed,” he joked.

But it was his performance, which brought heart and humanity to the role — a literal gentle half-giant — that stuck with audiences.

Appearing in the HBO Max special “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” Coltrane recalled his time on the films and Hagrid’s impact.

“Everybody in the world would like a really big, huge, strong, good man on their side, simple as that. That’s the attraction of Superman and these things,” he said. “Hagrid was always obviously the good guy, wasn’t he?”

Coltrane is survived by his children, Spencer and Alice; their mother, Rhona Gemmell and his sister Annie Rae, according to a statement from his UK agent, Belinda Wright.