20 Harry Potter Actors Who Passed Away

Harry Potter is a name that needs no more introduction. After the first series of "Harry Potter,'' novels began to top bestseller lists in the late 1990s, a film franchise was almost unavoidable. The first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (known as "Philosopher's Stone" outside of North America), was released in 2001, sparking a decade-long "Potter" marathon at theaters and box offices worldwide.
The franchise has had millions and millions of followers from various generations. And it also helped to spread the name of many actors and actresses who starred in films. It’s safe to say that all the roles in Harry Potter gained a number of fans, even the smallest roles. The cast includes actors who have had legendary, decades-long careers on both stage and cinema, as well as emerging young talents who will go on to become superstars in their own right.
Unfortunately, many actors and actresses from Harry Potter have passed away for different reasons. Although they’re not with us today, their performance in the movie as well as their contribution to the cinema industry have sustained the public's attention. Take a look at 20 deceased Harry Potter actors below.

#1 Hazel Douglas

Source: IMDb

Hazel Douglas had a career in film for over six decades, since 1947. Yet, she actually gripped attention for her portrayal of historian Bathilda Bagshot in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One. At this time, the actress was already well into her 80s. Douglas died on October 8, 2016, at the age of 92.

#2 Robbie Coltrane

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JK Rowling, the author of the "Harry Potter" books, had three wishes before agreeing to the film. One of them was Robbie Coltrane's casting as Rubeus Hagrid. The Scottish actor successfully delivered this character - a gentle giant (half-giant, technically) who strikes quite the image. Coltrane died on October 14, 2022, at a hospital in Scotland after years rid of poor health. He was 72.

#3 Robert Knox

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Robert Knox appeared in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Marcus Belby, a member of Professor Slughorn's "Slug Club" who enjoys pastries and ice cream, was played by the young actor in a minor role. Knox would have remained in the front, not probably appearing as an extra in the Battle of Hogwarts, but that never happened.
Knox was killed in a stabbing in London before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was even released in theaters. When Karl Bishop, 22, attacked a group of five people with a kitchen knife, Robert Knox rushed to his younger brother's help, protecting him. Unfortunately, Knox died at the age of 18 as a result of his courageous actions.

#4 Jimmy Gardner

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Jimmy Gardner played a very brief and insignificant role in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but he was very funny and endearing. Jimmy portrayed Ernie Prang, a double-decker Knight Bus driver who wore enormous glasses and drove erratically.
He passed away in 2010 at the age of 85. Along with Ernie Prang in Harry Potter, the actor also left a mark with his role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy in 1972, Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp in 2004, etc…

#5 John Hurt

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John Hurt is one of the more recognizable actors from the Harry Potter series. The Academy Award winner, whose credits include Doctor Who and Watership Down, played Olivander, the amiable and somewhat mysterious wand-maker who buys Harry Potter his first wand. Hurt's performances bookended the series since he appeared in adaptations of the first and final Harry Potter books. John died in 2017 when he was 77. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few years earlier.

#6 Roger Lloyd-Pack

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Roger Lloyd-Pack has undoubtedly had one of the most illustrious careers. Before landing the role of Barty Crouch Sr., a high-ranking Ministry of Magic official and the father of notorious Death Eater Barty Crouch JrLloyd-Pack had already appeared in such iconic British series as The Vicar of Dibley, Only Fools and Horses, and even Doctor Who. Before his death in 2014 at the age of 69, Roger Lloyd-Pack portrayed the senior Barty Crouch in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The cause of death was pancreatic cancer.

#7 Robert Hardy

Source: Wattpad

Robert Hardy made four appearances in the Harry Potter films: Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, and Order of the Phoenix. Throughout the series, he played Cornelius Fudge, the authoritative and subsequently disgraced Minister of Magic whose primary duty was to reject and downplay Lord Voldemort's reappearance for as long as possible.
Hardy died in 2017 at the age of 91, after a career spanning decades in everything from film and television to the stage. Hardy's relatives characterized him to BBC News as "gruff, elegant, twinkly, and always dignified" and “celebrated by all who knew him and loved him, and everyone who enjoyed his work.”

#8 Derek Deadman

Source: IMDb

Tom, the bartender and landlord of The Leaky Cauldron, one of the most well-known pubs in the wizarding world, is the first wizard Harry Potter knowingly interacts with, unless you count Hagrid, the half-giant who doesn't actually have any magic of his own to speak of. Before being strangely and completely remade as a bald man with a hunchback in later appearances, Tom first appeared in the first Harry Potter film.
Tom only appears briefly in the film series, but he was played by British actor Derek Deadman in the first film. Deadman died in 2014 at the age of 74 from diabetes issues, leaving the Leaky Cauldron permanently unmanned.

#9 Terence Bayler

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Many of the characters in the Harry Potter novels and films are realistic and relatable, to the point where you could practically envision running into them on the street in real life. Many, though, are far more whimsical, none more so than the swarm of ghosts who stalk the Hogwarts corridors. Terence Bayler portrayed one of these ghosts, the menacing and devious Bloody Baron.
Bayler died in 2016 at the age of 86, after a successful career as an actor in New Zealand for decades. Aside from Harry Potter, Bayler's most well-known role was Gregory in Monty Python's Life of Brian.

#10 Dave Legeno

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Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf infamous for biting kids and enlisting them in his werewolf army, is one of the most hated figures in Harry Potter history. Dave Legeno brought to life this filthy and unendingly nasty monster.
Legeno likely got disoriented while hiking over Death Valley in 2014. His body was discovered by other hikers; the actor had died from the effects of extreme heat and dehydration. Legeno passed away at the age of 50.

#11 Richard Harris

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Richard Harris had the tough challenge of creating the character of Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster and legendary wizard who provides much of Hogwarts' sense of security. Unfortunately, Harris was only able to play the part in the first two films because he died before the third picture began production.
Harris died of Hodgkin's disease shortly after filming the Chamber of Secrets in 2002. The actor was 72 years old when he died. Following that, Michael Gambon took over as Dumbledore.

#12 Sam Beazley

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Sam Beazley didn't have the most prominent position in the Harry Potter series, but he did have one of the most respectable. Beazley was one of many famous performers cast to play a painting, as paintings in the wizarding world may be charmed and roam around. Beazley, in particular, portrayed Professor Everard, one of Hogwarts' most famed headmasters, with whom Professor Dumbledore frequently confers throughout the films.
Sam enjoyed a long and happy life before passing away in his sleep at home in 2017 at the age of 101. He left an incredible legacy, having returned to acting at the age of 73 after abandoning the industry as a young man to fight in World War II and maintaining a profitable antique store for decades.

#13 Helen McCrory

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Helen McCrory faced the challenging task of bringing to life a complex villain without losing any of the characteristics that made the character so adored by readers of the books. McCrory portrayed Narcissa Malfoy, mother of Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter's archenemy, and wife of aristocratic and villainous Lucius Malfoy.
Unfortunately, McCrory passed away in April 2021 as a result of cancer difficulties, as verified on Twitter by her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis ("Homeland," "Billions"). McCrory, who was only 52 years old when she died, had a promising career ahead of her, but "Potter" fans will remember her scene-stealing performance as Narcissa.

#14 Elizabeth Spriggs

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Elizabeth Spriggs was brought on board to play the Fat Lady, the aristocrat whose portrait stands watch at the door to the Gryffindor common room, from the very beginning of the Harry Potter film series. Unfortunately, Dawn French, a well-known British comedian, took Spriggs' place when later movies featured the Fat Lady; French's interpretation of the role was more theatrical and less harsh.
Sadly, Spriggs passed away in 2008 at the age of 78. The Fat Lady was undoubtedly the actress's best-known film role, despite the fact that she had planned innumerable other roles during her career. Although Spriggs spent many years performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater in England, she is better known among theatergoers.

#15 Alan Rickman

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Rickman, an actor with many roles under his belt, will be remembered by a generation for many years. He played Professor Severus Snape, one of the most complicated characters in the "Harry Potter" series. Rickman died on January 14, 2016, at the age of 69, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
He never told anyone about his illness except his closest friends and family. Emma Watson, who portrayed Hermione Granger alongside Rickman, stated on her public Facebook page “I’m very sad to hear about Alan today, I feel so lucky to have worked and spent time with such a special man and actor. I’ll really miss our conversations. RIP Alan. We love you.”

#16 Verne Troyer

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In the first Harry Potter film, famous actor Verne Troyer played Griphook, one of the goblins of Gringotts The wizard bank. Although Troyer played Griphook, Warwick Davis later in the franchise entirely replaced Verne and gave the character his voice.
Sadly, Troyer passed away in 2018 at the age of 49 from alcohol poisoning. Later, his death was determined to be a suicide. Verne was a highly inspirational person who always sought to be of service and make us smile. He is most remembered for his appearances in The Love Guru and as Mini-Me in two Austin Powers films.

#17 Rik Mayall

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Don't worry if you're scratching your head and wondering when Rik Mayall made an appearance in the Harry Potter books. Mayall was supposed to play Peeves the Poltergeist in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but his contributions to the series were never shown on screen. All of Mayall's parts were recorded and included in a rough cut of the film, but they were deleted before the movie was released.
After a long and illustrious comedy career that included the films Drop Dead Fred and The Young Ones as well as television's Bottom, Mayall passed away in 2014. In a statement announcing Mayall's passing, his longtime comedic collaborator Ade Edmondson said: “There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing. They were some of the most carefree, stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him.”

#18 Paul Ritter

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Paul Ritter starred as a wizard named Eldred Worple in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but he's also recognized for his roles in Quantum of Solace, The Limehouse Golem, and as Martin Goodman in the Friday Night Dinner TV series.

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Ritter died quietly at his family home of a brain tumor at the age of 54. His representation publicized a statement that said: “Paul was an exceptionally talented actor playing an enormous variety of roles on stage and screen with extraordinary skill. He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very funny. We will miss him greatly.”

#19 Timothy Bateson

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Another actor whose performance in Harry Potter you undoubtedly observed and loved without ever seeing his face is Timothy Bateson. Bateson was entrusted with bringing Kreacher, the series' second house-elf, to life. Kreacher is the polar opposite of Dobby, who is wide-eyed and earnest: he is curmudgeonly, nasty, and a little rough around the edges.

Source: IMDb

Bateson played Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix only once and died at the age of 83. Kreacher was brought back in accordance with the literature for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and he was played by fellow English actor Simon McBurney.

#20 Richard Griffiths

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Throughout the Harry Potter series, Richard Griffiths was such a fantastic character that you could not help but love to loathe him. He portrayed Vernon Dursley, Harry's rude and obnoxious uncle, who detested having to look after his nephew.
Sadly, the adored actor passed away in 2013 at the age of 65 as a result of complications from heart surgery. Griffiths was a remarkable actor who appeared in Sleepy Holland, and innumerable plays, and received a BAFTA nod for his part in The History Boys. However, Uncle Vernon is undoubtedly his most well-known performance.