Richard Griffiths

Rooting against Uncle Vernon Dursley in the “Harry Potter” movies was one thing, but few had anything but kind words to say about the actor who played him, Richard Griffiths, who died Thursday, March 28, 2013, at the age of 65.

I will miss him. He was a fantastic actor and a great loss. He did an awesome job bringing Vernon Dursley to life the way he did.

Sometimes his true warmth peeked through, as in that odd scene in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone film where he is talking about Sundays being a ‘fine day’ and asks why that is. When Daniel’s Harry asks him “Because there’s no post on Sundays?”, Richard momentarily dropped the Vernon persona and beamed warmly at him, replying, “Right you are, Harry”. He then went on in a far jollier fashion than his character Vernon usually portrayed — that is, until the hundreds of Hogwarts letters addressed to Harry began to pour into the house.

I bet that deep down, unlike Vernon, Richard liked imagination and magic. And if Vernon came to life, Richard would’ve given Vernon a lecture on how an uncle should treat a nephew, especially if the nephew was a wizard like Harry, too. :)

Rest in peace, Richard. As you go on, be sure to take our love with you into, in the words of Albus Dumbledore, ‘the next great adventure’. :’)