Entertainment
Tom Felton and Jason Isaacs honour Helen McCrory as they pay tribute to ‘warm-hearted’ Harry Potter co-star
Tom Felton and Jason Isaacs have paid tribute to their Harry Potter co-star Helen McCrory, describing the late actress as ‘warm-hearted’ and an incredible talent.
On Friday April 16, Helen’s husband, Damian Lewis, announced in a statement that she had died at the age of 52 after being diagnosed with cancer.
Tributes have come pouring in for the celebrated actress, with her Peaky Blinders co-star Cillian Murphy saying he felt ‘broken-hearted to lose such a dear friend’.
Tom, who played her on-screen son Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise, shared a picture on Instagram of them in the final instalment with Jason, who played Lucius Malfoy opposite Helen’s Narcissa Malfoy.
In the caption, Tom said it was ‘so sad to say farewell so suddenly’.
‘I never took the chance to tell her, but she helped shape me as a person so much – on and off screen,’ he wrote.
‘She was always relentlessly herself – razor sharp wit – silver-tongued – kind and warm-hearted – she suffered no fools yet had time for everyone.’
Expressing his gratitude to Helen, he said: ‘Thank you for lighting the way forward and holding my hand when I needed it xx.’
In a post shared on Twitter and Instagram, Jason recalled auditioning for a film with Helen several decades ago.
‘I came home and said to Emma [Hewitt] “I think I’ve just met the greatest actress I’ve ever seen.” After years of watching her mesmerize audiences I don’t think that any more… I know it,’ he said.
‘Luckily I eventually found out that she was also scabrously funny, shockingly naughty and with an empathetic heart the size of a planet.
‘As continually starstruck as I was on the Harry Potter films, being screen-married to and giggle with the great Helen McCrory will always be a highlight. Her proudest achievement, though, was building and loving the family that was her bedrock.
‘They’ve lost so much and I send all my love to Damian and the kids. Xxx.’
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the magical film series, described her as ‘one of the absolute coolest people I’ve ever met’.
‘I truly couldn’t believe this news when I heard it. Helen was one of the most incredible actors I got to work with on the Harry Potter films,’ he said in a statement sent to Metro.co.uk.
‘She was effortlessly commanding and captivating as an actor, as well as being kind, generous and incredibly good fun as a person.
‘Also, as it happens, she’s one of the absolute coolest people I’ve ever met, in that I can’t ever imagine her being flustered or nervous, she always seemed totally assured of who she was and what she was doing.
‘She was a supreme talent and a wonderful person and will be very greatly missed.’
Harry Potter author JK Rowling said she was ‘devastated’ to learn of Helen’s death, describing her as ‘an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who left us too soon’ in a statement shared on Twitter.
‘My deepest condolences to her family, especially her husband and children. Simply heartbreaking news,’ she wrote.
In addition to Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter, several of Helen’s other notable roles included performances in His Dark Materials, James Bond film Skyfall, MotherFatherSon and The Queen.
In the final year of her life, she and Damian helped raise more than £1million to help feed the NHS throughout the coronavirus pandemic, teaming up with Matt Lucas in their efforts.
Helen is survived by her husband and their two children – daughter Manon, 14, and son Gulliver, 13.
MORE : Helen McCrory supported charity work with husband Damian Lewis in live interview weeks before death
