it's hard to imagine that harry potter
was brought to the big screen two
decades ago yet time flies and sadly
some stars who helped to make the iconic
franchise are now no longer with us
let's celebrate the legacy all these
green legends have left behind
before sir michael gambon joined the
harry potter cast the iconic role of
albus dumbledore belonged to the irish
actor richard harris harris played the
hogwarts headmaster in the first two
harry potter films however harris
actually turned down the role three
times before accepting it according to
rare media he said my granddaughter
called me and said papa she said if you
don't play dumbledore i will never speak
to you again shortly after he finished
filming harry potter and the chamber of
secrets harris was admitted to the
hospital with pneumonia and was later
diagnosed with hodgkin's disease a form
of cancer however the 72 year old had
committed to playing albus dumbledore
for the duration of the film franchise
and didn't plan to let his diagnosis
stop him director chris columbus joked
he threatened to kill me if i recast him
but sadly harris died on october 25th
2002 less than 10 days before the film
was released according to the guardian
celebrated british actor richard
griffiths played harry's magic hating
muggle uncle vernon dursley in five of
the harry potter films in a 2008
interview with sniffle griffis said
being part of the harry potter films was
a quote fantastic experience and that
perhaps his character was more
misunderstood than people thought he
explained he's a guy who doesn't
understand anything vernon and he's not
cruel he means well but it just comes
out bad on march 28 2013 griffiths died
from heart surgery complications at age
65 the guardian reported he is survived
by his wife of 33 years heather gibson
the tony award-winning actor was
recognized for his best film television
and stage history including sleepy
hollow the history boys and the 2007
stage production equus in which he
starred alongside harry potter co-star
daniel radcliffe according to itv news
radcliffe shared a heartwarming tribute
saying any room he walked into was made
twice as funny and twice as clever just
by his presence i am proud to say i knew
him
derek deadman played tom the bar man at
the leaky cauldron in harry potter and
the sorcerer's stone initially tom asked
hagrid if he wants the usual but he
later explains he's quote unofficial
hogwarts business which means he's
taking harry to buy school supplies
bless my soul
it's harry potter another person appears
behind the bar in harry potter and the
prisoner of azkaban but the character of
tom the barman is never replaced prior
to harry potter deadman appeared in a
variety of high-profile projects
including a streetcar named desiree in
1991. it is not clear why deadman
stepped away from the harry potter
franchise but it seems to have been for
health reasons he previously had
supporting roles and never say never
again and doctor who deadman retired to
france where he died from diabetes
related complications in 2014 according
to 17.
verne troyer was the actor behind the
goblin grip hook who showed harry to his
green god's fault in harry potter and
the sorcerer's stone casting for the
harry potter franchise was limited by an
all-british rule though michigan born
troyer was one of the few exceptions
however british actor and fellow harry
potter star warrick davis who played
professor flitwick voice troyer's
character troyer did not reprise his
role as grip hook after the first movie
though and when the character reappeared
in the deathly hallows film davis had
taken over the role completely troyer
had a long list of acting credits which
included playing mini-me in the austin
power series however off-screen the
actor had issues with addiction troyer
died from multiple organ failure on
april 21 2018 after being hospitalized
for alcoholism earlier that month after
his death his family shared a tribute to
the actor on a social media page saying
he was a fighter when it came to his own
battles but that this time was too much
according to the washington post troyer
had been open about his addiction in the
past saying i'm willing to continue my
fight day by day
sir john herr played magical wandmaker
ollivander in the harry potter franchise
appearing in three out of the eight
films we first meet ollivander and harry
potter and the sorcerer's stone when
hagrid sends harry along to his shop to
buy his wand hagre tells harry oh you
want olivanders ain't no place better
ollivander later reappears in both
installments of the deathly hallows in a
nice full circle moment ollivander
repeats a line from the first film the
one chooses the wizard mr potter
he reminds harry who later uses this
piece of information to defeat voldemort
to harry potter fans her will always be
remembered as the diagon ally wan maker
though he had an extensive film and
television career spanning half a
century during that time hurt amassed
over 150 acting credits including in the
guillermo del toro film hellboy and the
long-running television series doctor
who the bafta winning actor also bagged
major voice roles in the bbc series
merlin hurt died on january 25th 2017.
he was survived by his wife who said
he'd brought joy and magic to the world
according to the bbc
new zealand-born actor terence baylor
was another exception to the all british
casserole baylor played slytherin's
ghost the bloody baron in harry potter
and the sorcerer's stone the bloody
baron had a bigger role in the harry
potter books he was the only one who
could keep hogwarts poltergeist peeves
in line the bloody baron's role didn't
fully translate to the screen and he
only appears in the first movie however
we learn more about his life in harry
potter and the deathly hallows part two
when helena ravenclaw reveals he
murdered her in the 11th century this
appearance in harry potter was just a
stop along the way for baylor who had a
career that spanned six decades the
actor was known for monty python doctor
who and shakespeare stage productions
baylor died on august 2nd 2016 at the
age of 86 for the hollywood reporter
fellow monty python alum eric idle wrote
on his website i think the thing i love
most about terence baylor was his gentle
loving considerate humor it was a
privilege and a pleasure to know him he
enriched my life and i loved him
beloved british actor alan rickman
portrayed severus snape in all eight of
the harry potter films in an interview
with the new york times rickman was
asked how he got the role he explained
i was asked to do it
while rickman was perfectly cast he
explained the role wasn't without its
challenges initially he said there was a
difficulty when they started because joe
rolling had only written three books at
the time and he was playing a character
whose arc wasn't complete he added
clearly snape had an agenda you just had
no idea what it was rickman's career
extended far beyond harry potter too the
famed actor had a prominent stage career
along with starring roles in films such
as love actually robin hood prince of
thieves and die hard rickman died on
january 14 2016 from pancreatic cancer
at the age of 69 per bbc his death was
met with heartfelt tributes from his
harry potter castmates daniel radcliffe
shared on his google plus account alan
rickman is undoubtedly one of the
greatest actors i will ever work with he
is also one of the loyalist and most
supportable people i've ever met in the
film industry i will carry the lessons
he taught me for the rest of my life and
career
elizabeth spriggs played the fat lady in
the portrait which led to the gryffindor
common room spriggs only appeared in
harry potter and the sorcerer's stone
though and in the third film the fat
lady was played by don french who put
more of a comedic spin on sprig's
serious performance harry potter may not
have been a career defining performance
for sprigs but her work on stage was
legendary for over four decades sprigs
performed classics on stage and in film
spriggs died on july 2nd 2008 at the age
of 78 for the guardian fellow harry
potter actor robert hardy attended
spriggs funeral
robert hardy played minister for magic
cornelius fudge in four of the eight
harry potter films fudge first appeared
in harry potter and the chamber of
secrets followed by harry potter and the
prisoner of azkaban where he tried to
befriend harry appearing as an ally but
later came to hogwarts to see the
execution of hagrid's hippogriff
buckbeak as the films went on fudge
became more power-hungry and became an
antagonist to harry and dumbledore when
he denied the return of voldemort hardy
died on august 3 2017 at age 91 the
guardian confirmed harry potter alum
chris rinkin who played fudge's
assistant percy weasley paid tribute to
the actor on twitter writing bbc news
tells me robert hardy the minister of
magic has died terribly sad he was a
very kind man who told wonderful stories
the classically trained british actor
had a career spanning over 70 years and
was known for a variety of stage film
and television roles such as the bbc
series all creatures great and small he
was also proud to have portrayed winston
churchill on screen nine times in nine
different productions
british actor and comedian eric sykes
played frank bryce and harry potter and
the goblet of fire frank bryce was the
caretaker of the riddle house and the
first face you see in the movie psych
shared a bit of his experience on the
harry potter set with the manchester
evening news saying it was so enjoyable
i thought it was all going to be shot in
half a day and went on for a couple of
weeks they kept adding little bits until
it's my scene coming down the stairs and
that's the opening of the picture they
wanted him to be so well known so that
when he dies after the first five
minutes all the audience will go ah
beyond his role in harry potter sykes
was a versatile actor and had a
supporting role in the others alongside
nicole kidman on july 4 2012 sykes died
peacefully at home with his family after
a brief illness his manager norma farns
told the bbc
marjorie mason appeared in harry potter
and the goblet of fire as the trolley
witch on the hogwarts express the actor
took over the character from gene
southern who decided not to reprise her
role after the first harry potter film
for health reasons margaery is most
recognizable as the ancient beer in the
princess bride she also had a cameo in
love actually which also starred fellow
harry potter actor alan rickman the
guardian confirmed that mason died on
january 26 2014 at 100 years of age the
actor had a full life and was not afraid
to try new things like scuba diving for
which she received a certificate at the
age of 81 according to the times
roger lloyd pack played barty crouch
senior and harry potter and the goblet
of fire he appeared several times as the
ministry representative for the
triwizard tournament lloyd pack was best
known for his roles in british comedies
such as his roles as trigger and only
fools and horses and owen knew it in the
vicar of dibbly a rule where he appeared
alongside fellow harry potter alum don
french however it was thanks to his
appearance in harry potter that the
actor developed a global fan base lloyd
pack then starred in the british sitcom
the old guys and had a two-episode guest
appearance in doctor who in 2006. this
was the second time the actor worked
with david tennant who played his
estranged son barty crouch jr and the
goblet of fire on january 15 2014 at the
age of 69 lloyd pack died from
cancer-related complications per the bbc
shane allen the former director of
comedy at the bbc shared the nation bids
a fond and sad farewell to one of the
most popular television sitcom actors of
his generation
timothy bateson voiced sirius black's
house elf creature and the fifth film
harry potter and the order of the
phoenix creature's backstory is
ultimately cut short in the film though
sirius's poor treatment of the house elf
leads him to betray his family but his
loyalty to his former master regulus
black persuades him to join harry's
fight against voldemort and the deathly
hallows bateson died on september 15
2009 at the age of 83 according to the
guardian simon mcburney voiced the house
elf in the deathly hallows films the
actor is survived by his wife sheila
their three children and his sister anne
his family has chosen not to publicly
reveal his cause of death prior to
joining the harry potter cast the actor
enjoyed a 50-plus year career in film
television and the theater his notable
credits include a christmas carol oliver
twist and tango at the end of winter
which he starred in alongside harry
potter actor alan rickman
helen mccrory played narcissa malfoy in
the final three installments of the
harry potter franchise narcissa is known
for her iconic look in each of the films
so at the harry potter and the deathly
hallows part 2 premiere mccrory was
asked if she would transport any of her
character's style into the real world
the actor joked the blonde hair is a
hell to upkeep so no i'm happy to leave
her on the screen mccrory sadly died of
cancer-related complications on april 16
2021 at the age of 52. the actor who was
also known for playing aunt polly and
peaky blinders was married to fellow
actor damian lewis lewis announced his
wife's death on twitter writing she died
as she lived fearlessly god we love her
and know how lucky we are to have had
her in our lives tom felton who played
mccrory's on-screen son draco malfoy
also shared a beautiful tribute to the
actor on instagram writing so sad to say
farewell so suddenly i never took the
chance to tell her but she helped shape
me as a person so much thank you for
lighting the way forward and holding my
hands when i needed it
robert rob knox played hogwarts seventh
year marcus belby in harry potter and
the half blood prince the ravenclaw
student was a regular guest at professor
slughorn slug club dinner parties which
were for notable or gifted students
belby's uncle quote invented the
wolfsbane potion which made him a
treasured guest to slughorn knox was due
to reprice's role in the deathly hallows
films but he tragically died on may 24
2008 at the age of 18. just days after
filming for harry potter and the
half-blood prince ended the actor was
stabbed outside of a bar in london when
he stepped into a fight to protect his
brother according to the daily mail
nox's cousin vicky may said after his
death rob had a great acting career
ahead of him he wasn't violent he wasn't
in any gang this wasn't about gangs this
was about stupid people carrying knives
the independent reported his attacker
carl bishop 22 was sentenced to life in
prison
paul ritter also appeared at a slug club
event in harry potter and the half blood
prince he came me out as the reporter
eldred warple who was a guest at
slughorn's christmas party in the film
he can be spotted speaking to luna
lovegood although in the half-blood
prince book warpel introduces himself to
the famous harry potter and offers to
pen his life story according to the bbc
ritter died on april 5th 2021 at the age
of 54. shortly after he was diagnosed
with a brain tumor friday night dinner
creator robert popper described him as
quote a deeply clever funny intelligent
kind man adding he also had that rare
thing he had the common touch so people
could just relate to him beyond his role
in the harry potter franchise ritter was
known for friday night dinner quantum of
solace and chernobyl dave lagino played
the werewolf fan rear greyback and harry
potter and the half-blood prince and in
both deathly hallows films greyback was
one of the more ruthless and infamous
voldemort supporters though we had not
officially gained death eater status the
werewolf is known for turning remus
lupin into a werewolf when he was a
child attacking bill weasley in the
sixth film and killing lavender brown in
the final battle lugino was nothing like
his vicious character in real life
though emma watson wrote a tribute to
the actor on twitter saying he was such
a lovely man according to flicks in the
city in 2013 logino shared how he loved
being part of the harry potter cast and
explained that they treated him like
quote one of the family immediately
off-screen the batman begins actor was
also an mma fighter and boxer the
hollywood reporter confirmed lagino
tragically died on july 6 2014 from
overheating while hiking in california
the wizarding world's legendary
historian batilda bagshot is mentioned
early in harry potter and the sorcerer's
stone by hermione when she and the other
first years are all about to be sorted
into the hogwarts houses since then
bagshot is mentioned sporadically
throughout the film series viewers
finally get to meet her in the
penultimate installment harry potter and
the deathly hallows part 1 although it
is not really her because she's being
possessed by lord voldemort snake nagini
the character is played by hazel douglas
who was in her late 80s at the time
douglas found acting success after
serving in the royal navy and kept busy
in theater and television roles
including vicious and at home with the
brave weights douglas became known for
playing elderly and matriarchal
characters like granny and albatross
according to the guardian douglas died
on september 8 2016 at the age of 92.