<p>Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the <em>Harry Potter</em> films, has died aged 72, his agent said on Friday.</p>.<p>"My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday October 14," Belinda Wright said in a statement, calling him "a unique talent".</p>.<p>Coltrane, who was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, forged a career as an actor, comedian and writer.</p>.<p>On television, he starred alongside Emma Thompson in the cult BAFTA-winning BBC mini-series <em>Tutti Frutti</em> in 1987.</p>.<p>He came to prominence and won more awards for his portrayal of the hard-drinking criminal psychologist Dr Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the ITV series "Cracker" (1993-2006).</p>.<p>He was the English author and lexicographer Samuel Johnson in the TV comedy series <em>Blackadder the Third</em> alongside <em>Mr Bean</em> star Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie (<em>House</em>).</p>.<p>On the big screen, he had roles in the 1987 Neil Jordan crime drama <em>Mona Lisa</em> and teamed up with former Monty Python star Eric Idle in the 1990 comedy<em> Nuns on the Run</em>.</p>.<p>He also played a former KGB agent-turned-Russian mafia boss in two James Bond films -- <em>Goldeneye</em> (1995) and <em>The World Is Not Enough</em> (1999) -- with Pierce Brosnan.</p>.<p>But he will best be remembered globally as Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant half-human gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts school in the film franchise of JK Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter books.</p>.<p>The role "brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years", said Wright.</p>.<p>She added: "For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell.</p>.<p>No cause of death was given but Wright thanked medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, central Scotland, "for their care and diplomacy".</p>
<p>Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid in the <em>Harry Potter</em> films, has died aged 72, his agent said on Friday.</p>.<p>"My client and friend Robbie Coltrane OBE passed away on Friday October 14," Belinda Wright said in a statement, calling him "a unique talent".</p>.<p>Coltrane, who was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, near Glasgow, forged a career as an actor, comedian and writer.</p>.<p>On television, he starred alongside Emma Thompson in the cult BAFTA-winning BBC mini-series <em>Tutti Frutti</em> in 1987.</p>.<p>He came to prominence and won more awards for his portrayal of the hard-drinking criminal psychologist Dr Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the ITV series "Cracker" (1993-2006).</p>.<p>He was the English author and lexicographer Samuel Johnson in the TV comedy series <em>Blackadder the Third</em> alongside <em>Mr Bean</em> star Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie (<em>House</em>).</p>.<p>On the big screen, he had roles in the 1987 Neil Jordan crime drama <em>Mona Lisa</em> and teamed up with former Monty Python star Eric Idle in the 1990 comedy<em> Nuns on the Run</em>.</p>.<p>He also played a former KGB agent-turned-Russian mafia boss in two James Bond films -- <em>Goldeneye</em> (1995) and <em>The World Is Not Enough</em> (1999) -- with Pierce Brosnan.</p>.<p>But he will best be remembered globally as Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant half-human gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts school in the film franchise of JK Rowling's best-selling Harry Potter books.</p>.<p>The role "brought joy to children and adults alike all over the world, prompting a stream of fan letters every week for over 20 years", said Wright.</p>.<p>She added: "For me personally I shall remember him as an abidingly loyal client.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Coltrane is survived by his sister Annie Rae, his children Spencer and Alice and their mother Rhona Gemmell.</p>.<p>No cause of death was given but Wright thanked medical staff at Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, central Scotland, "for their care and diplomacy".</p>