In the 'Harry Potter' films, Emma Watson (right) played brilliant young witch Hermione Granger while Robbie Coltrane (left) portrayed gentle half-giant wizard Rubeus Hagrid. Photos: Handout
Emma Watson was among several Harry Potter cast members who paid tribute this weekend to their beloved co-star Robbie Coltrane, who died Friday (Oct 14) at age 72.
On her Instagram story, Watson shared a sweet photo of her and Coltrane catching up while filming HBO Max's Harry Potter reunion special last year. In the fantasy films, Watson played brilliant young witch Hermione Granger while Coltrane portrayed gentle half-giant wizard Rubeus Hagrid.
"Robbie was like the most fun uncle I've ever had but most of all he was deeply caring, and compassionate towards me as a child and an adult," wrote Watson, who was 11 when the first Harry Potter film hit theatres in 2001.
"His talent was so immense it made sense he played a giant — he could fill ANY space with his brilliance."
Watson and Coltrane shared several scenes across the eight Harry Potter films — including one emotional sequence in which Hagrid comforts Hermione after the Hogwarts school bully, Draco Malfoy, calls her a "filthy little mudblood" (a fictional slur directed at witches and wizards with non-magical parents).
According to Watson's Instagram post, Coltrane was just as benevolent off-screen as his fan-favourite character was onscreen.
"Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise to do it in your name and memory," she said.
"Know how much I adore you and admire you. I'll really miss your sweetness, your nicknames, your warmth, your laughs and your hugs. You made us a family. Know you were that to us."
Other Harry Potter alumni who honoured Coltrane this week were Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Oliver Phelps (George Weasley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick) and Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.
"Heartbroken to hear that Robbie is gone," Grint wrote on Instagram. "I'll never forget the smell of cigars and beard glue — a wonderful combination. No one else on this planet could [have] played Hagrid, only Robbie .... A giant hearted man who was still looking out for us even decades later."
"I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he's passed," Radcliffe said in a statement. "He was an incredible actor and a lovely man."
In addition to the Harry Potter movies, Coltrane starred in other films and TV series such as Cracker, The Comic Strip Presents and Tutti Frutti, as well as the James Bond instalments GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough.
"There was no better Hagrid," Watson wrote on Instagram. "You made it a joy to be Hermione." – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service
