Coltrane's agent Belinda Wright said he died Friday at a hospital in his native Scotland.
She called him "forensically intelligent" and "brilliantly witty".
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who said Coltrane was her first choice to play Hagrid.
She Wrote, "I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him".
Born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Scotland.
In his early 20s when he began pursuing an acting career and renamed himself in honor
of jazz musician John Coltrane.
On Friday, his "Nuns on the Run" co-star Eric Idle tweeted that
He had been talking about Coltrane, "wondering where he was," when he learned of his death.
"Such a bright and brilliant man. A consummate actor, an extraordinarily funny comedian and an amazing actor. He was also a very good friend,"
Idle wrote.