Last week fans of franchises from Harry Potter to James Bond were hit hard by the news that actor Robbie Coltrane had passed away. While Coltrane played a number of memorable roles in TV and on the big screen, he will forever be known most for his role as Hagrid in the Harry Potter franchise, and co-star Tom Felton is remembering his friend with a quote that is likely to make even the coldest heart feel emotional.
Felton shared an image on Instagram with a quote from Coltrane looking back on his time in the Harry Potter movies. The movies took a decade to produce and Coltrane talks about how much of his own life changed in that time, and how the films will live after him, which of course, they now are. Felton adds his own comment to the quote “Wands up” a reference to the way that wizards honor the dead in the Harry Potter universe.
As it happened, fans did exactly as Tom Felton asked. At Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park, where Hogwarts Castle is located, Harry Potter fans gathered for an impromptu ceremony where they raised their wands in honor of Hagrid and Robbie Coltrane. This will likely become something that we will see again, as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a physical place where people can remember the films, it’s basically church for Harry Potter fans. The same thing happened several years ago following the death of Alan Rickman.
There’s been a great outpouring of love for Robbie Coltrane since his death was confirmed on Friday. In addition to Felton, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have also shared their memories of working with the actor, who seems to have been universally loved. Actors like Hugh Laurie, who were part of Coltrane’s long non-Harry Potter career have also spoken about how much of a nice, and apparently hilarious, guy he was.
Robbie Coltrane certainly knew exactly what he was talking about with this statement. While all the actor’s work will live on now that’s gone, the Harry Potter movies will almost certainly be the movies that keep Coltrane in front of people for decades to come. It’s a film franchise that will be watched by new generations as those that saw it themselves as kids show it to their own children, and there will be new fans of Coltrane’s Hagrid forever.
Having said that, Coltrane’s career was far more than Harry Potter and those future generations that fall in love with Hagrid will likely still come across the actor in other places, like the James Bond franchise, and classic British TV like Black Adder and Cracker. Few are lucky enough to have so many popular character that will live on after they are gone, but Robbie Coltrane will be one of those people.