Actor Robbie Coltrane, Hagrid in Harry Potter, died

British actor Robbie Coltrane has died at the age of 72, his manager Belinda Wright announced. He has starred in several films and television series since the late 1970s, but was best known for his role as the half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series.

According to Wright, the actor died in a hospital in Scotland, where he lived. It is not known why Coltrane, who was actually called Anthony Robert McMillan, died.

“Robbie will likely be remembered for decades to come as Hagrid, a role that brought joy to children and adults alike,” says Wright. “The role has sparked a barrage of fan mails every week for the past twenty years.” She describes Coltrane as “a unique talent”.

Watch Harry and Hagrid’s first meeting in the first film in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, from 2001:

In 2002 Coltrane was nominated for the British Bafta Leading Film Award in the Supporting Male category for his portrayal of Hagrid. He didn’t win that award back then, but by the 1990s the actor had already won three Bafta. He won the best actor award in 1994, 1995 and 1996 for his role in the crime series Cracker.

In 2016, Coltrane also won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor, a major UK television award.

In addition to Harry Potter, Coltrane also starred in two James Bond films. In Golden eye in The world is not enough took over the role of KGB agent Valentin Zukovsky.

Born and raised Scottish, Coltrane began his career in 1979 with the television series Play for today. Four years later, she caused a stir with the series Outdoors. That TV series, which consisted of all kinds of comic sketches, had a total of thirteen episodes. Coltrane had one of the lead roles, along with Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson, among others.

With Thompson he also starred in the series since 1987 Tutti Fruttion the Scottish rock and roll band The Majestics.

Stephen Fry praises Coltrane’s talent and says he will miss the actor terribly:

Coltrane had two children, whom he had with his ex-wife, whom he divorced in 2003. His manager says he would like to thank the staff at the Scottish hospital where he stayed for their “care and confidentiality”. He invites people to respect family privacy.