British actor and comedian Robbie Coltrane passed away today at the age of 72 in a hospital in Falkirik, Scotland, his agent Belinda Wright confirmed. Remembered by many as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, Coltrane is well-known to the James Bond fans as Valentin Zukovsky, a retired KGB agent turned a reluctant friend of Pierce Brosnan's 007 in GOLDENEYE.
In a statement issued to the press announcing this sad news, Wright remembered him as "as an abidingly loyal client. 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." The cause of death still remains unknown, but it is understood that Coltrane was suffering of poor health in the past decade.
Anthony Robert McMillan was born on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, Scotland. Since a very early age he was interested in art, music and films, making his acting debut on stage at the Glenalmond College playing king Henry V. His TV debut was in the BBC mini-series THE LOST TRIBE in 1980, appearing later in movies like SUBWAY RIDERS and THE POPE MUST DIE, before taking the lead of the British TV series CRACKER in 1993, where he played forensic doctor Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald.
On January 16, 1995, Coltrane was among the first people to interact with Pierce Brosnan's James Bond, since the first scene the Irish actor shot as 007 was the reencounter between Bond and Zukovsky in a St Petersburg nightclub, a Peter Lamont set at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire. Due to his incredible popularity, the character was brought back for a final appaerance in 1999's THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, although Bruce Feirstein also included him in an early draft of TOMORROW NEVER DIES.
Coltrane's other credits include MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE, THE BROTHERS BLOOM, GREAT EXPECTATIONS and EFFIE GRAY. In 2006, he was made an OBE for his services to drama and later he was later awarded the BAFTA Scotland Award for outstanding contribution to film in 2011. His last screen credit was the role of Orson Wells in TV's URBAN MYTHS. The GOLDENEYE actor is survived by his sister Annie Rae and his children Spencer and Alice. May he rest in peace.