Robbie Coltrane sadly passed away last Friday, and since then a resurfaced message from the late star has gone viral.
Everyone knows Robbie Coltrane for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise.
And it’s not a surprise that he won hearts by playing this beloved character for all 8 of the movies.
He also appeared in ITV detective drama Cracker and the James Bond movies GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough.
But we bet you didn’t know he was also a comedian…
Coltrane became a well-known face through appearances in The Comic Strip series, then in Alfresco in 1983, and in the movies The Supergrass in 1985 and The Pope Must Die in 1991.
He also made his debut on television as “Border Guard” in BBC’s mini-series The Lost Tribe in 1980, then made his big screen debut as a limousine driver in Death Watch in the same year.
The actor then appeared in his first leading role as Detective Fritz Langley in Subway Riders in 1981.
At that time Coltrane had a drinking problem, in which he used to down as much as a bottle of whiskey in a day.
Reportedly, in 1986 the comedian-turned-actor flew to a clinic in Mexico and was treated for obesity. By 1987 his partner for fifteen years, Robin Paine, left him for good, leaving her portrait in Coltrane’s barn.
But things took a different turn when Coltrane met then eighteen-year-old Rhona Gemmell in a pub in 1988.
They married and had a son, Spencer, and a daughter, Alice, and soon after his career took off.
Then Coltrane hit another lucrative franchise and he was personally selected by author J.K. Rowling as her choice to play half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies.
In the early 1990s, Coltrane wrote an autobiography titled Coltrane in a Cadillac. He also starred in the eponymous TV series, Coltrane in a Cadillac in 1993, in which he indulged his passion for vintage cars and told it with great humor about his 4000-mile journey across America from Los Angeles to New York.
In 2003 he separated from his wife.
Thereafter his interests outside of his acting profession turned to him reading books, and rebuilding and collecting vintage cars, while he still resided in a converted farmhouse in Scotland.
Coltrane sadly passed away on Friday…
And although his agent, Belinda Wright, did not reveal how the actor died, she paid tribute to him in the sweetest way possible…
“My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday October 14. Robbie was a unique talent, sharing the Guinness Book of Records’ Award for winning three consecutive Best Actor Baftas for his portrayal of Fitz in Granada TV’s series Cracker in 1994, 1995 and 1996 with Sir Michael Gambon.
“He will probably be best remembered for decades to come as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, a role which brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years,” she wrote.
“James Bond fans write too to applaud his role 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,” the statement read.
And she wasn’t the only one to pay tribute to the late star, as J.K. Rowling and his other co-stars also penned down emotional messages…
“I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. He was an incredible talent, a complete one off,” Rowling wrote.
“And I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him. I send my love and deepest condolences to his family, above all his children,” she added.
While Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the Harry Potter franchise described him as “like the most fun uncle I’ve ever had.”
“Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise I’ll do it in your name and memory,” she wrote.
“There was no better Hagrid. You made it a joy to be Hermione,” she added.
Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter, 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 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.”
While James Phelps, who played Fred Weasley, said he will miss the “random chats about all subjects under the sun.”
And Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy, described Coltrane as a “big friendly giant”, and recalled shooting a scene with him during Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone.
“One of my fondest memories of filming Harry Potter was a night shoot on the first film in the forbidden forest,” Felton tweeted.
“I was 12. Robbie cared & looked after everyone around of him. Effortlessly. And made them laugh. Effortlessly. Love you mate — thank you for everything xx.”
But the outpouring of tributes from his co-stars didn’t end just there, as Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, described Coltrane as “a giant, in more ways than one” and said they “shared a love of the final frontier.”
Bonnie Wright, who featured as Ginny Weasley, said she was “heartbroken” and thanked Coltrane for “all the laughter.”
But what’s got fans even more emotional is that after his passing a resurfaced message from the late actor has gone viral…
Coltrane reflected on the iconic role in HBO Max’s Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts and said: “It’s the end of an era. Ten years of my life. My children have grown up during it.”
He added: “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, easily… I’ll not be here, sadly… but Hagrid will, yes.”
Harry Potter fans were left emotional after they watched the actor get teary-eyed about playing Hagrid.
“I sobbed. Hagrid’s always been a favorite of mine. Robbie Coltrane did such a beautiful job with his character,” one fan wrote.
A second added: “When Robbie Coltrane said ‘I won’t be around in 50 years but hagrid will be’ #HarryPotter20thAnniversary [sic].”
“Anyone else find the Harry Potter thing quite moving?” wrote a third. “I love Robbie Coltrane.”
Rest in peace, Robbie Coltrane.