Harry Potter actor Richard Griffiths has died aged 65 of complications following heart surgery.
He is known by millions of children around the world as Vernon Dursley, mean uncle to the boy wizard, in the Harry Potter movies.
Richard, who was an OBE and had an illustrious career on stage and screen, was also well-known for his roles as Uncle Monty in Withnail and I and as Inspector Crabbe in Pie in the Sky on television.
He received 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, all for his role in the play The History Boys.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title role in Harry Potter and performed with the actor in the play Equus, led tributes.
"Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career," he said.
"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."
His character in Harry Potter, Vernon Dursley, was named after the town near Stroud as Forest of Dean author J. K. Rowling said she visited the place as a child, and hated it.
She said in interview: "I don't imagine I'm very popular in Dursley". She also said it sounded "dull and forbidding".
Richard Griffiths biography
Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, on July 31, 1947, Griffiths left school at 15 but he later returned to education to study drama, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He married Heather Gibson in 1980 after they met during a production of Lady Windermere's Fan in 1973. His early television career saw him land bit parts in series such as Minder, The Sweeney and Bergerac. Film credits included Chariots Of Fire, The French Lieutenant's Woman, GoldenEye, Gandhi and The Naked Gun 2 1/2.
Withnail & I was released in 1987. Shot on a shoestring budget and with little plot to speak of, it was largely ignored when first released but is now regarded as a British classic.
Griffiths went on to star as a crime-solving chef in TV series Pie In The Sky during the 1990s, and made his first appearance as Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, released in 2001.
On stage, he was known for his zero-tolerance approach to mobile phones.
In 2004 he famously ordered a man out of the National Theatre when his mobile repeatedly rang during a performance of The History Boys. The following year he stopped mid-speech during a production of Heroes at Wyndham's Theatre to scold a woman whose telephone kept ringing.
His agent Simon Beresford said: "Richard gave acting a good name. He was a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors. He will be greatly missed.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his devoted wife Heather and his family at this sad time."
The actor, who starred alongside Danny DeVito in Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre last year, was due to reprise the role in September in Los Angeles.
He is known by millions of children around the world as Vernon Dursley, mean uncle to the boy wizard, in the Harry Potter movies.
Richard, who was an OBE and had an illustrious career on stage and screen, was also well-known for his roles as Uncle Monty in Withnail and I and as Inspector Crabbe in Pie in the Sky on television.
He received 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, all for his role in the play The History Boys.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the title role in Harry Potter and performed with the actor in the play Equus, led tributes.
"Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career," he said.
"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."
His character in Harry Potter, Vernon Dursley, was named after the town near Stroud as Forest of Dean author J. K. Rowling said she visited the place as a child, and hated it.
She said in interview: "I don't imagine I'm very popular in Dursley". She also said it sounded "dull and forbidding".
Richard Griffiths biography
Born in Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, on July 31, 1947, Griffiths left school at 15 but he later returned to education to study drama, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He married Heather Gibson in 1980 after they met during a production of Lady Windermere's Fan in 1973. His early television career saw him land bit parts in series such as Minder, The Sweeney and Bergerac. Film credits included Chariots Of Fire, The French Lieutenant's Woman, GoldenEye, Gandhi and The Naked Gun 2 1/2.
Withnail & I was released in 1987. Shot on a shoestring budget and with little plot to speak of, it was largely ignored when first released but is now regarded as a British classic.
Griffiths went on to star as a crime-solving chef in TV series Pie In The Sky during the 1990s, and made his first appearance as Uncle Vernon in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, released in 2001.
On stage, he was known for his zero-tolerance approach to mobile phones.
In 2004 he famously ordered a man out of the National Theatre when his mobile repeatedly rang during a performance of The History Boys. The following year he stopped mid-speech during a production of Heroes at Wyndham's Theatre to scold a woman whose telephone kept ringing.
His agent Simon Beresford said: "Richard gave acting a good name. He was a remarkable man and one of our greatest and best-loved actors. He will be greatly missed.
"Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go to his devoted wife Heather and his family at this sad time."
The actor, who starred alongside Danny DeVito in Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys at the Savoy Theatre last year, was due to reprise the role in September in Los Angeles.
