British Hollywood actor Robert Hardy, who played Cornelius Fudge in the Harry Potter films, and All Creatures Great and Small, has died aged 91.
His family proclaimed the death on Thursday evening, paying tribute to a tremendous life and giant career.
Hardy was a prolific actor of both stage and screen, with many well-known and memorable roles under his belt before he joined the Potter franchise as the weak and ambitious Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.
Hardy got his start in Shakespeare, playing Sicinius in Coriolanus with Lawrence Olivier in 1959.
He achieved widespread fame in the UK when he played veterinarian Siegfried Farnon on the BBC series All Creatures Great and Small for 12 years.
Harry Potter actor Chris Rankin, who played Percy Weasley in the films, wrote on Twitter that he was “terribly sad” to hear the news of Hardy’s death.
He said: He was a very kind man who told wonderful stories.
The actor spent his last days, in Denville Hall, a retirement home for professional actors based in Hillingdon, west London.
