Paul Ritter, who starred in Chernobyl and Harry Potter series, passes away at 54

Actor Paul Ritter passed away on Monday, 5 April. Paul’s agent informed The Guardian that the 54-year-old actor died of brain tumour. His agent, in a statement, said that Ritter died at home in the presence of his family.

Paul is survived by his wife Polly and sons, Frank and Noah. The statement added that he was an exceptionally talented actor who played an enormous variety of roles both on stage and screen with exceptional skill. “He was fiercely intelligent, kind and very funny. We will miss him greatly."

A familiar face to British television viewers and theatregoers, Ritter played Martin Goodman, the eccentric father of a London Jewish family, in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner.

He also played ill-fated nuclear engineer Anatoly Dyatlov in the HBO drama Chernobyl; the wizard Eldred Worple in Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince; and appeared as a devious political operative in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace.

Ritter was a regular cast member in productions at Britain’s National Theatre, and his stage roles also included Art at London’s Old Vic and Prime Minister John Major in royal drama The Audience. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 2009 for his performance in Alan Ayckbourn’s farce The Norman Conquests on Broadway.

The actor will soon be seen in the 10th anniversary retrospective of Friday Night Dinner on UK network Channel 4. The show also stars Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal in pivotal roles. 

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Paying tribute to Paul, British comedy producer and actor Robert Popper tweeted that he is devastated at this terribly sad news. Calling Paul the greatest actor he has ever worked with, Robert said that the Friday Night Dinner actor was a lovely and wonderful human being.

(With inputs from The Associated Press)