Paul Ritter, British Screen and Stage Star, Dies at 54

Paul Ritter, the English screen and stage star whose list of credits includes Harry Potter and James Bond films, has died. He was 54.

His agent confirmed the news to the BBC, saying that he died of a brain tumor at his home on Sunday, with his family by his side.

“It is with great sadness we can confirm that Paul Ritter passed away last night,” the agent said. “He died peacefully at home with his wife Polly and sons Frank and Noah by his side. He was 54 and had been suffering from a brain tumor.”

Ritter was best known in the U.K. in recent years for playing the family patriarch in long-running Channel 4 comedy Friday Night Dinner, but was a recognizable face across numerous films, TV shows and stage plays, landing both Olivier and Tony nominations.

After his debut performance on famed police procedural drama The Bill in 1992, Ritter starred in films such as Son of Rambow, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Quantum of Solace. Ritter was recently seen in the Sky/HBO mini-series Chernobyl portraying Anatoly Dyatlov, the supervisor who was blamed for not following safety protocols leading to the nuclear disaster, and is set to appear in upcoming WWII drama Operation Mincemeat. 

“Paul was an exceptionally talented actor playing an enormous variety of roles on stage and screen with extraordinary skill,” added his agent. “He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very funny. We will miss him greatly.”