Leslie Phillips, the prolific British actor who voiced the Sorting Hat within the “Harry Potter” films, died Monday. He was 98.

The performer’s agent, Jonathan Lloyd, confirmed to the Related Press that he died “peacefully at house.”

Phillips performed a comparatively small however pivotal position in the blockbuster “Harry Potter” franchise because the Sorting Hat, a magical wizard’s cap that locations first-year college students at Hogwarts Faculty of Witchcraft and Wizardry into their respective homes — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Within the first movie, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” Phillips’ regal voice booms throughout Hogwarts’ Nice Corridor because the titular boy wizard (performed by a younger Daniel Radcliffe) begs to not be sorted into Slytherin.

“Not Slytherin, eh?” Phillips’ Sorting Hat sneers. “Higher be … Gryffindor!”

Phillips was additionally revered for his comedic work within the “Carry On” movies by which he delivered exaggerated performances satirizing wealthy folks of England. His “Carry On” characters had been identified for blurting out suggestive catchphrases resembling, “Ding dong,” “Effectively, hi there” and “I say!”

All through his profession, Phillips appeared in additional than 150 movie and TV tasks. In 2007, he scored a BAFTA nomination for his supporting flip in “Venus,” starring Peter O’Toole. He’s most lately credited for the 2012 thriller “After Demise” and for reprising his position because the Sorting Hat within the closing “Harry Potter” movie.

Phillips additionally had an illustrious stage profession and was a member of London’s Royal Shakespeare Firm. In 2008, Phillips was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

“I’ve all the time been joyful. I’ve all the time loved my work,” Phillips mentioned in an episode of the British speak present “Anderson on the Field.”

“I hate studying [lines], in fact … There’s a sort of concern that grows [in your stomach], and it turns into … quite like a journalist, I think about, having to fulfill a deadline. You realize that when you don’t know your strains, you’re going to stroll in entrance of the viewers and make an absolute fool of your self. So that you really get on with it. That’s what makes you study.”

The Related Press contributed to this report.