Robbie Coltrane death: Jason Isaacs says he was a ‘fanboy’ for Harry Potter co-star in moving tribute

‘That Robbie Coltrane even knew my name was unbelievable,’ actor wrote

Jason Isaacs has revealed himself to be a “fanboy” for Robbie Coltrane as he paid tribute to his Harry Potter co-star.

The death of the Scottish actor, who played Hagrid in the fantasy franchise, was announced on Friday (14 October). Coltrane was 72.

Tributes quickly poured in on social media from Coltrane’s fellow Harry Potter cast members, including Daniel Radcliffe himself.

On Monday (17 October) afternoon, Isaacs shared a photo of his two daughters next to a rubber copy of Coltrane’s face as Hagrid from the set of Harry Potter.

Captioning the post, the actor – who played Lucius Malfoy – wrote that the mask “thrilled and delighted my girls almost as much as the real thing did me”.

“That Robbie Coltrane even knew my name was unbelievable to the boy who’d laughed at and leant into everything he’d ever done for years,” Isaacs wrote.

“To pretend myself a colleague, to share gossip and gags, to be invited for a cuppa into his personally customized Silver Bullet Airstream was to experience a fanboy’s complete bliss. RIP you lovely man.”

Before his death, Coltrane reflected on the legacy of his Harry Potter character in HBO’s reunion special for the franchise’s 20th anniversary.

“The legacy of the movies is that my children’s generation will show them to their children,” he said. “So you could be watching it in 50 years time, easy.

“I’ll not be here, sadly...” he said, trailing off with a chuckle. “But Hagrid will. Yes.”

Paying tribute to Coltrane, Radcliffe said: “Robbie was one of the funniest people I’ve met and used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set.

“I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on Prisoner of Azkaban, when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up.”

He continued: “I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”