Harry Potter’s fans, also known as Potterheads, are in mourning. Last Friday, October 14th, they received one of the worst news for them. Robbie Coltrane, the actor who played Hagrid, the professor of magical creatures, had died at the age of 72. The followers of this saga and even some actors of the cast went to Twitter and Instagram to show their pain after the sad news.
Hagrid, the character he had long played, was undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed among the fans of J.K. Rowling’s novels. The famous giant was in charge of protecting the young magician, Harry, and taking care of the strange and magical animals.
Although Robbie Coltrane appeared in many films, such as “Murderland”, he will always be remembered for his role in Harry Potter films as they have marked both, children and adults, for more than a decade. The actor was also part of the reunion that HBO MAX created this year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the films. In that documentary, entitled “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts”, some of the actors from the original cast were reunited.
The social media quickly got full of kind messages for the actor. The Potterheads managed to make trending topic on Twitter the name of the actor and the one of the character he played, Hagrid. Even so, the most outstanding messages have been those shared by the other members of the Harry Potter’s cast.
The actor who played the main character of the films, Daniel Radcliffe, made a post on instagram with four photos as a tribute to Coltrane. In the first two we can see the two actors together while in the third and fourth only Robbie appears, being in the last characterized as Hagrid. As the caption he included a text in which he told how fun he was and how he made them laugh during the filming.
Emma Watson, the actress who gave life to Hermione, published a story on Instagram with a photograph of her talking to Robbie accompanied by a message in which she expressed that he had been like an uncle to her and that he made everyone feel like part of a family during the filming.
Tom Felton also joined the messages. The boy who played Draco during the saga shared an anecdote about what was the best moment for him during the filming with Hagrid.
Another of the main characters, Rupert Grint, Ron on the big screen, uploaded in instagram a photo in which you can see the teacher. As an accompaniment he wrote a funny anecdote about the memory he has of the smell of glue for beard and cigars that Robbie gave off during the filming of Harry Potter. Alongside him, his fictional sister, Ginny Weasley, played by Bonnie Wright, gave tribute to the actor expressing the sadness she has after receiving the news as Hagrid was her favorite character.
Matthew Lewis, who played Neville, said the deceased actor was a giant in every way, not only in the role he played.
Another message that did not miss through Twitter was the one of the author of the saga, J.K. Rowling. The writer sent her condolences to the family of the actor in addition to expressing the luck she had for being able to work with him.
After seeing these messages posted on social media, what is clear is that all those who knew him agree that he was a funny and kind man, as well as a great actor. Those who at the time of the filming of the saga were children, also highlight how well he behaved with them and with the professionalism that he treated them, as if they were already professional actors. Without a doubt, it has been a great loss and Robbie will be missed by both, adults and children.
