The world has been saddened by the news that Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane passed away on the 14th of October at the age of 72. He will forever be remembered as the gentle giant who expertly brought the character of Hagrid to life in the Harry Potter movies, complete with all the fierce loyalty, fatherly warmth, and endearing clumsiness that made the character so loveable in the books. The two are so inseparable, it is now nearly impossible to read Hagrid in the books without hearing Robbie's voice. Even watching Harry Potter as an adult, you can’t help but be moved by the way Hagrid takes Harry under his wing. Since Robbie’s passing, tributes to the wonderful actor have flooded in on social media from those that had the pleasure of working with him over the span of his career. Emma Watson stated that he was "like the most fun uncle I’ve ever had” and that he “made us a family”, while Tom Felton shared how he made everyone laugh “effortlessly”. It is clear to see that he was a remarkably compassionate and humorous person and an asset to every film set he was on. For the generation that grew up alongside Harry, he will be dearly missed. But as Robbie said himself in the 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special: “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.”
