Numerous Harry Potter stars, including Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint, have paid tribute to the late Michael Gambon.

On Thursday, it was announced that the popular actor had died at the age of 82 from complications of pneumonia.

Gambon played the role of the eccentric Hogwarts headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films.

Radcliffe described his late co-star as one of the most “brilliant and effortless” actors he has ever worked with.

“Despite his immense talent, what I will remember most is how much fun he had doing his job,” Radcliffe said in a statement. “He was silly, irreverent and hilarious.”

Grint said he was “so sad” to hear of the death of his former co-star, who was a role model for him.

“He brought so much warmth and mischief to every day on set,” the star said on Instagram. “He fascinated me as a child and became a personal role model for me when it came to finding fun and eccentricity in life.”

Harry Potter’s official Instagram account posted a series of black-and-white photos of Gambon to mark his death.

“We will keep his memory in our hearts forever,” says a message accompanying the photos.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling admitted that it was a pleasure for her to see Gambon in the role of Dumbledore.

“The first time I saw him was in ‘King Lear’ in 1982,” she recalled in a statement posted on Twitter/X. “And if you had told me then that this brilliant actor would appear in anything I wrote, I would have thought you were crazy.”

Gambon has had a hugely successful career, appearing in a number of hit television shows and films, including Maigret, The King’s Speech, Gosford Park and Layer Cake.

The Dublin-born actor leaves behind his wife Lady Gambon and their son Fergus, as well as his two children with Philippa Hart.