(Commonwealth Union)_We raise our lit wands to the sky as we pay our respects to Robbie Coltrane, the gentle giant who painted our childhoods in love, kindness and humour through his iconic character of Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films.
Coltrane passed away at the age of 72 at a hospital near Falkirk in Scotland. Through his career he appeared in a detective drama called Cracker and the James Bond films Goldeneye and The World Is Not Enough, however he was best known for his portrayal of Hagrid in Harry Potter.
He received many accolades throughout his career such as the BAFTA award for best actor for Cracker for three consecutive years from 1994 to 1996. He was made an OBE in 2006 in the New Year’s honours list for his services to drama and received the BAFTA Scotland Award for his outstanding contribution to film in 2006.
Multiple celebrities mourned his death, and took to their social media accounts paying their respects to him and expressing their sorrow. They lauded him as the kindest person they’ve known and revelled in the fond memory of his charismatic and cheerful persona.
Emma Watson, who played the character of Hermione in the Harry Potter films mentioned that if she ever gets the opportunity to be as kind as Robbie was on a film set, she would do it in his name and memory. Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint were amongst the leading characters who were young children on set, and for them, Robbie’s kindness made things easier and made them extremely comfortable. “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on that set,” said Daniel.
His last appearance on screen was early this year at the Harry Potter reunion where he connected with the rest of the cast and crew of Harry Potter, delivering a moment of nostalgia for all Harry Potter fans.
As we bid adieu to Hagrid, we would like him to know that he will continue to live on in our hearts and that his kindness and love will always be cherished as generations to come fall in love with his character.
