Robbie Coltrane Dead: ‘Harry Potter’ Star Daniel Radcliffe Honors ‘Lovely Man’ After His Death at 72

Daniel Radcliffe has posted a public tribute to his Harry Potter co-star Robbie Coltrane. Coltrane passed away on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter, following a long illness. As fans, friends and colleagues grapple with the news, many like Radcliffe are emphasizing Coltrane’s larger-than-life persona.

Radcliffe issued his tribute to Coltrane directly to the press, including a report by Variety. He said: “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 Prisoners 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 concluded. He Meanwhile, his co-stars mourned Coltrane on social media, in the press and even in books. Tom Felton has a new memoir called Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard which comes out on Tuesday. According to a report by USA Today, that book includes some wisdome passed down from Coltrane.

“Robbie was always keen to remind us that we weren’t there to cure cancer,” Felton wrote. “We weren’t saving the world. We were simply making a film. We should remember that, not get too big for our boots and try to have a laugh along the way.”

Coltrane was from Scotland and was 72 years old at the time of his passing on Friday. He dealt with numerous overlapping illnesses that have kept him in a wheelchair since 2016. The news of his death inspired an outpouring of grief on social media, including many praises from his co-stars outside of the Harry Potter franchise.

Besides Harry Potter, Coltrane was well known for his role on ITV’s Cracker, in the James Bond movie GoldenEye and in the movie The World is Not Enough. Coltrane continued to work after playing Hagrid as well, co-starring in The Tale of Despereaux with Emma Watson and appearing in the 2016 miniseries National Treasure.

For many fans, the best tribute to Coltrane and his work comes from Coltrane himself. During HBO Max’s Harry Potter anniversary special last year, he said: “The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children. So you could be watching it in 50 years’ time, easy. I’ll not be here, sadly, but Hagrid will, yes.”