JK Rowling has paid tribute to Stuart Craig, the Oscar-winning production designer who brought to life the wizarding world of Harry Potter.
In a post today, Rowling described Craig as a ‘true visionary’ and ‘also one of the nicest people you ever could hope to meet’.
Craig, who has died aged 83, was a designer on film sets including The English Patient, Dangerous Liaisons and The Elephant Man.
In his role as a production designer, Craig played a crucial part in transforming a script into reality by collaborating with various visual departments like costume, lighting, and special effects to craft the world in which the story unfolds.
Spanning from 18th-century France to Victorian London, Craig partnered with the film director and department heads to conceptualize the screenplay’s visual presentation.
Craig perhaps gained the most fame for designing the sets for all eight Harry Potter films, starting with the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 and concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, released ten years later in 2011.
Following the completion of these films, Craig was tasked with designing the Harry Potter theme parks. He collaborated with Warner Bros to develop the beloved studios in Watford.
He continued his work with the Potter film franchise by designing the three Fantastic Beasts films, released between 2016 and 2022.
Rowling said in a tribute: ‘Working with Stuart Craig was one of the privileges of my life.
‘He was a true visionary and conjured the wizarding world for the screen as nobody else could have done.
JK Rowling paid tribute to Stuart Craig today, the production designer of all eight Harry Potter films who has died aged 83
Rowling called Craig a ‘true visionary’ and ‘also one of the nicest people you ever could hope to meet’
Craig won three Oscars and three Baftas in a glittering career that spanned more than four decades
‘He was also one of the nicest people you ever could hope to meet,’ she added. ‘My deepest condolences to his loved ones.’
Across a glittering career of more than four decades in the industry, Craig won three Oscars and was nominated for eight more.
He earned Oscars for best art direction for films such as Gandhi, the 1982 biographical film, Dangerous Liaisons, the 1988 period drama featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and John Malkovich, and The English Patient, the 1996 sweeping romantic war film starring Ralph Fiennes.
Craig received Oscar nominations for eight other films, including four Harry Potters, and also won three Baftas and was nominated for 16.
David Puttnam, a film director and former peer who worked with Craig on The Mission, Cal, and Memphis Belle, expressed that, ‘Stuart was not only the most creatively talented production designer of his generation but also, as a leader and colleague, he was among the finest I ever had the honor of collaborating with.’
‘Stuart generated the most incredible sense of loyalty among his team, something which sprung naturally from a debt he felt he owed to those with whom he’d worked, and who had helped him, early in his career.
‘Losing Stuart is a very sad day for the whole of the British film industry – he and his influence will be massively missed.’
He married Patricia Stangroom in 1965, with whom he had two children, Becky and Laura and four grandchildren.
Craig passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s disease on Sunday, September 7, his family said.
His family told the Guardian: ‘Our beloved husband and father, deeply loved and respected, was not only known for his talent but also for his kindness and we are moved by hearing of how many lives he touched.
‘He will live on in our hearts forever.’
