Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane dies at 72

Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid — (Image credit: Universal)

Anthony Robert McMillan, known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, has passed away at the age of 72 following a long illness.

The actor is perhaps most known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film franchise, the half-human half-giant dragon-keeper who rescues Harry from his miserable life with his adopted muggle family. Prior, he portrayed criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the ITV television series Cracker, which earned him a British Academy Television Award for best actor. Coltrane also played Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky opposite Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye and The World is Not Enough.

"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," his agent Belinda Wright said in a statement, adding that he was a "unique talent" who "brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world."

Daniel Radcliffe also released a statement, remembering Coltrane as "one of the funniest people I've ever met."

"Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set. 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," Radcliffe wrote (via Deadline).

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.