Dave Legeno

Dave Legeno was an English actor and mixed martial artist whose biggest role was playing Fenrir Greyback in the popular "Harry Potter" movies. Legeno was born on October 12, 1963 in Marylebone, an affluent inner-city area of London. Standing at six-foot-three, Legeno was a physically imposing presence, which he used to great effect when he was a professional wrestler in his twenties. His first break into the film industry came in 2000 when British director Guy Ritchie put him in the cast of his critically acclaimed crime-comedy "Snatch." Afterwards, he landed several roles in big-budget movies, usually as an incredibly muscled extra. He fought toe-to-toe against the Caped Crusader in "Batman Begins" (2005) and played an executioner in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007), the sequel to the 1998 Academy Award-nominated historical drama "Elizabeth." Beginning in 2005, he began his career as a professional mixed martial artist. Although he lost his first three matches, he improved his record by winning his next four matches. Legeno decided to put his mixed martial arts career on hold when he was cast the werewolf Fenrir Greyback in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009). He then reprised his role of the lupine follower of Lord Voldemort in the two-part film series finale, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (2010, 2011). In 2014 he was due to be seen in two feature films, "Sword of Vengeance" and "The Last Knights." Before the films were released, Legeno was found dead by a pair of hikers on July 6, 2014 in Death Valley, California. According to initial reports, Legeno died of heat-related issues while hiking in extreme weather conditions.