Those of us who have grown up with Harry Potter know how influential the characters were…
Sadly, as the years have gone on, we have lost a lot of our beloved cast members.
We’ve had to say goodbye to twenty-four incredible actors since the franchise began.
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Now, of course, we all know J.K Rowling is the woman behind it all.
What started out as a mere musing while stuck on a delayed train in London in 1990, led to a young Joanne Rowling conjuring up the magical story of Harry Potter.
It’s become a huge success.
Thirty years since it’s creation, over 500 million copies of the book franchise have been sold worldwide in eighty different languages.
Making it one of the best-selling book series of all time.
Rowling famously struggled with marriage and money issues in the 4 years she spent working on the first Harry Potter book. In 1994, she found herself as a newly-divorced single mom living out of her sister’s spare room in the Scottish city of Edinburgh.
And, unbelievably, her idea was turned down by several different publishers…
Who reportedly found the idea to be “too long-winded for children.”
Even her literary agent allegedly warned her, “You do realize, you will never make a fortune out of writing children’s books?”
But, regardless of her personal struggles, she continued working on her vision, frequently taking to small coffee shops across Edinburgh to complete her debut book.
And out it came…
500 copies of the debut Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone finally hit the shelves in bookstores across the United Kingdom.
The book was an instant success.
The adventures of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were quick to capture a vast and loyal fanbase, with children and adults alike being instantly captivated by the novel.
And, in the years following from The Philosopher’s Stone…
Rowling went on to release 6 more books that detailed Harry’s fight against the notorious Lord Voldemort, which only made her unique take on the fantasy world of magic even more known and loved across the world.
We became Harry Potter obsessed.
So, of course, it didn’t take long for the movie adaptations to come along.
The final chapter of the Harry Potter franchise, The Deathly Hallows, was released back in 2007…
And fans were finally able to discover the fate of Harry Potter and the rest of the wizarding community.
Something which Rowling has claimed she knew from the very beginning.
Including the collaboration on the 2-part play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and the hugely successful blockbuster, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Sadly, since then we have lost many of the characters we all grew to love.
Leslie Phillips’s death was the most recent tragedy to hit Harry Potter fans.
He sadly passed away at the age of ninety-eight following a long illness.
Phillips was best known for voicing the iconic Sorting Hat in the movies.
Richard Harris.
Harris took on the colossal task of playing Albus Dumbledore and did so with such ease that we all fell in love with his warm and grandfatherly persona.
Sadly, Harris only got to play the headmaster for the first 2 Harry Potter movies, as he tragically died in 2002 aged seventy-two.
Michael Gambon was then cast as Dumbledore and played the character for the remaining 6 movies.
Robert Knox.
Knox played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and was set to appear in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
However, he tragically died in 2008 after being stabbed to death outside a London bar after a fight broke out.
The eighteen-year-old actor was allegedly trying to protect his brother (sixteen) when he was killed.
Elizabeth Spriggs.
Spriggs famously played The Fat Lady in the painting that stood guard over the Gryffindor common room.
Sadly, Spriggs died in 2008, aged seventy-eight.
Her role was later given to the British comedian Dawn French.
Timothy Bateson.
Bateson voiced the character Kreacher, the old house elf who served the House of Black, Kreacher was later left to Harry Potter after Sirius Black’s death.
Bateson voiced the character in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
But sadly died in 2009, aged eighty-three.
Jimmy Gardner.
Gardner played the wacky Ernie Prang who drove the Knight Bus in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Impressively, Gardner had been in the acting profession since the ’60s and was also a WWII veteran.
He died in 2010, aged eighty-five.
Alfred Burke.
Burke played Armando Dippet, the predecessor of Albus Dumbledore, he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Burke died in 2011 aged ninety-two.
Eric Sykes.
Sykes played Frank Bryce, the gardener for the Riddle family who became the prime suspect in their murder, a crime he didn’t commit. He died in 2012, aged eighty-nine.
Richard Griffiths.
Griffiths famously played Vernon Dursley, the reluctant guardian/uncle of Harry Potter. He was the husband of Petunia Evans, the sole remaining bloodline of Harry, and father to Dudley Dursley.
Griffiths appeared in 5 of the movies in the franchise.
He sadly died in 2013, aged sixty-five due to complications following heart surgery.
Peter Cartwright.
Cartwright played Elphias Doge, a jury member of the Ministry of Magic, a member of the Order of the Phoenix in the Wizarding Wars, and a close friend of Dumbledore.
He sadly died in 2014, aged seventy-nine.
His character was later replaced by David Ryall.
Roger Lloyd Pack.
Pack played Barty Crouch Senior, the influential Ministry of Magic official who was eventually killed by his son and Death Eater, Barty Crouch Jr. He died in 2014, aged sixty-nine.
Dave Legeno.
Legeno played Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf and Death Eater known for praying on children.
He starred in 3 Harry Potter films before his tragic death.
His body was found by hikers in Death Valley in 2014 aged fifty. His death was listed as being caused by heat-related health problems.
Derek Deadman.
Deadman played Tom, the landlord, and barman of the Leaky Cauldron, the pub many passed through to get to Diagon Alley. He died in 2014, aged seventy-four.
David Ryall.
Ryall played replaced Peter Cartwright as Elphias Doge, he appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part: 1, but sadly died in 2014, aged seventy-nine.
Alan Rickman.
Rickman played Severus Snape, the half-blood wizard with a double life that played an integral part in the Wizarding Wars against Voldemort.
His character progression was full of twists and turns, and fans grew to love him.
Tragically, behind the scenes, Rickman was suffering from terminal cancer and sadly passed away in 2016.
Terence Bayler.
Bayler played The bloody Barron, a ghost that haunted Hogwarts. He was once a wizard of the school known as the Slytherin student Phillip Strenger. Bayler died in 2016, aged eighty-six.
Hazel Douglas.
Douglas played Bathilda Bagshot, a witch, and historian known for writing A History of Magic. She appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. She died in 2016, aged ninety-two.
John Hurt.
Hurt took on the role of Garrick Ollivander, the wandmaker we meet in the first movie of the franchise. Hurt was a hugely successful actor, and appeared in a vast number of film and stage productions during his career. He died in 2017, aged seventy-seven.
Sam Beazley.
Beazley played the painting of Professor Everard in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, he died in 2017, aged 101.
Robert Hardy.
Hardy played Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Hardy was a classical actor and played a variety of roles throughout his career. He sadly died in 2017, aged ninety-one.
Verne Troyer.
Troyer played Griphook, the goblin in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone who worked at Gringotts Wizarding Bank in Diagon Alley. He was later replaced by Warwick Davies following his death in 2018, aged forty-nine.
Paul Ritter.
Ritter played Eldred Worple, the wizard and famed writer, who was known for being the favorite student of Horace Slughorn. Ritter sadly died in 2021 of a brain tumor.
Helen McCrory.
McCrory played Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of Lucius Malfoy and mother of Draco Malfoy.
She was a cold character, and very much a Slytherin, but fans grew to love her as the franchise went on.
McCrory sadly died in 2021 aged fifty-two after battling breast cancer.
Robbie Coltrane.
Coltrane played the loveable Rubeus Hagrid who was a huge part of Harry Potter’s life from the start of the franchise.
Coltrane tragically died in October 2022, aged seventy-two from multiple organ failure.
Rest in peace to all the incredible actors we’ve had to say goodbye to over the years.
What an amazing legacy they’ve left behind.