View gallery
Robbie Coltrane died from multiple organ failure, as was confirmed by Scottish outlet Daily Record. The actor, most well-known for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise, passed away at age 72 on Friday, October 14 in a hospital in Labert, Scotland. Prior to his death, the actor also suffered from sepsis, a lower respiratory tract infection, heart block, obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. It was reported that the beloved actor also had mobility issues in recent years, and would use a wheelchair.
Before his death, it was reported that Robbie had been sick for a while, but the details of his illness weren’t public, per TMZ. The actor’s passing was announced in a statement by his agent Belinda Wright, given to the BBC. “For me personally, I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client. 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,” she said.
During his life, Robbie was open about his battle with osteoarthritis. He revealed that he was regularly in pain during filming for some of his later appearances. “I was fighting pain 24 hours a day when I was in National Treasure and Great Expectations,” he said in a 2020 interview, per Express. “I had no cartilage in my knee. It was bone on bone.” He’s survived by his two children: Spencer and Alice.
Following the news of Robbie’s death, tons of Harry Potter stars shared tributes to the late actor. Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title character, shared a moving remembrance of bonding with the man who played Hagrid. Daniel called Robbie one of the “funniest people” he 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. 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,” he said.
While Robbie performed in a number of beloved movies and TV shows throughout his career, including the James Bond films Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough and the comedy series Cracker, he’ll always be Hagrid to a generation of kids who grew up on the Harry Potter movies. Before his passing, he reflected on the movies’ staying power in an interview for the anniversary special on HBOMax. “The legacy of these movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children. So, you could be watching them in 50 years’ time, easy.” he said. “I’ll not be here sadly… but Hagrid will.”