'Harry Potter' Actor Robbie Coltrane Dead at 72

Robbie Coltrane, seen here in 2013, starred in the entirety of the "Harry Potter" franchise for a decade.  (Photo: J Carter Rinaldi via Getty Images)

Robbie Coltrane, who starred as Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” films, has died at 72, his agent told the BBC on Friday.

“Robbie will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid... a role which brought joy to children and adults alike, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years,” his agent Belinda Wright said.

“For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client,” she continued. “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.”

The actor is survived by his children, Spencer and Alice; their mother and his ex-wife, Rhona Gemmell; and his sister Annie Rae.

Coltrane, who was born Anthony Robert McMillan in Scotland, first rose to prominence in the United Kingdom playing Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald on the British show “Cracker” from 1993 to 1996. Starting in 2001, he appeared in all eight films in the “Harry Potter” franchise over the course of a decade.

“I’ve often thought when I’m watching things like ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ with my kids, I’d just think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to be in a film like that, and whole generations of kids would see it?’ And now it’s happened,” Coltrane said in a 2001 interview shortly after the first “Harry Potter” film was released.

The actor said in interviews that he relished playing Hagrid, a half-giant wizard who towered over everyone and instructed students at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the care of magical creatures.

“Everybody in the world would like a really big, huge, strong, good man on their side ― it’s as simple as that. ... Hagrid was always obviously the good guy, wasn’t he?” he said in an HBO Max special recognizing the franchise’s 20th anniversary.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the films, issued a statement Friday reacting to Coltrane’s death, calling him “an incredible actor and a lovely man.”

“Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and he used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on set,” Radcliffe said.

Coltrane was the recipient of numerous acting awards throughout his career, including five for “Cracker.” The late Queen Elizabeth also awarded Coltrane the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for his contributions to drama in the U.K.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.