Leslie Phillips, the prolific British actor who voiced the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” movies, died Monday. He was 98.
The performer’s agent, Jonathan Lloyd, confirmed to the Associated Press that he died “peacefully at home.”
Phillips played a relatively small but pivotal role in the blockbuster “Harry Potter” franchise as the Sorting Hat, a magical wizard’s cap that places first-year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry into their respective houses — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. In the first film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Phillips’ regal voice booms across Hogwarts’ Great Hall as the titular boy wizard (played by a young Daniel Radcliffe) begs not to be sorted into Slytherin.
“Not Slytherin, eh?” Phillips’ Sorting Hat sneers. “Better be … Gryffindor!”
Phillips was also revered for his comedic work in the “Carry On” films in which he delivered exaggerated performances satirizing rich people of England. His “Carry On” characters were known for blurting out suggestive catchphrases such as, “Ding dong,” “Well, hello” and “I say!”
Throughout his career, Phillips appeared in more than 150 film and TV projects. In 2007, he scored a BAFTA nomination for his supporting turn in “Venus,” starring Peter O’Toole. He is most recently credited for the 2012 mystery “After Death” and for reprising his role as the Sorting Hat in the final “Harry Potter” film.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
