Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’re going to be discussing Hogwarts’ loveable gamekeeper Hagrid- unpacking his early years and unveiling tragedy after tragedy.
What do we really know about Rubeus Hagrid?
The towering half-giant seemed to be a simple, content groundskeeper. But when we look back over the years, Hagrid’s life was filled with tragedy and all sorts of challenges.
Starting at the very beginning, today we’re going to unpack Hagrid’s life- taking a look at the highs, lows and everything in between.
But before we get too deep in to the in-universe aspects of Hagrid’s life, I thought I’d first enlighten you with a few little known factoids about the inspiration behind Hagrid’s character.
The list of Harry Potter characters inspired by REAL people is lengthy- including Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and even Gilderoy Lockhart. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that, just like these other characters, Hagrid too was based on a real person- a biker to be precise. 
In ‘Harry Potter: Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey’, Robbie Coltrane reveals that Hagrid’s character was modelled on a real biker. In this interview he goes on to explain that J.K. Rowling provided him with the insight that Hagrid was ‘based on a Hell's Angel she knew in the West Country’. ‘He was just huge and terrifying,’ Coltrane recalled Rowling telling him. ‘And then he would sit down and talk about his garden and how his petunias had been very bad that year.’
Rowling also supplied some interesting information pertaining to Hagrid’s NAME- revealing that, just like many other characters in the story, his name was very carefully chosen. 
“Hagrid is a big drinker who's regularly seen by Harry to indulge in visits to the pub and even getting inebriated. His name alludes to his personality trait because "Rubeus" is related to the word "ruddy," which means reddish and is apparent on someone who drinks a lot.”
And with those interesting factoids out of the way, let’s dive in to the life of Rubeus Hagrid.
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