'Harry Potter' Star & Tony Winner Richard Griffiths Dies at 65

BBC News reports that English actor of stage, film and television, Richard Griffiths has died at age 65 after complications from recent heart surgery. The actor was best known for his portrayal of Vernon Dursley in the Harry Potter film franchise and as Unchle Monty in 'Withnail and I.'

Griffiths was appointed an OBE in the 2008 New Year Honors. 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. He most recently appeared on the stage opposite Danny DeVito in The Sunshine Boys.

His other film roles included Henry Crabbe in Pie in the Sky, and King George II in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as well as in Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning 1982 film Gandhi portraying the role of a British journalist.

Griffiths' Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe, with whom he appeared on stage with in the 2007 revival of Equus, paid tribute to the late actor saying, "Richard was by my side during two of the most important moments of my career. I was proud to know him."

The actor's agent Simon Beresford, called him a "remarkable man", adding, "On stage he allowed us to share in our own humanity and constantly question our differences. 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."