Harry Potter star Richard Griffiths, who played Harry’s Uncle Vernon, has passed away at the age of 65 due to complications of heart surgery. Considered one of Britain’s best-known character actors, Griffiths starred in five Harry Potter films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and dozens of other productions.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in all eight of the series’ films, spoke of Griffiths to UK’s The Guardian today:
“In August 2000, before official production had even begun on Potter, we filmed a shot outside the Dursleys’, which was my first ever shot as Harry. I was nervous and he made me feel at ease…Seven years later we embarked on Equus together. It was my first time doing a play but, terrified as I was, his encouragement, tutelage and humour made it a joy. In fact, 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.”
Griffiths was as big of a star for his New York and London stage performances as he was for his roles on the big screen. We won numerous awards for his live performances including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.
“Richard Griffiths wasn’t only one of the most loved and recognizable British actors – he was also one of the very greatest,” Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, told The Guardian.
“His currency as an actor was truth; as a colleague it was hilarity. His anecdotes were legendary. They were, literally, endless.”
