Who else could have played the gentle half-giant Hagrid if not the Scottish drama hunk? In private, Coltrane lived a secluded life, he never said much and didn’t let himself be told anything. He defended J.K. Rowling against offended Twitter people, he felt the world to be more and more mimosa-like.
Originally he wanted to be a painter. He wanted to paint «like those who made me cry about humanity». Robbie Coltrane in a 2008 recording.
Robbie Coltrane was tall. He was six foot two, but he looked decidedly taller. He always had something huge in his films. A picture-filling actor that was. Even the most well-known stars looked next to the Scot as if they just made it into the picture; kinda puny.
Of course, no one else could play Hagrid, the gentle half-giant from Harry Potter. The comedian Robin Williams was said to have expressed interest in the role at the time, and is said to have even called the casting agent personally. But first, Williams was American, and second, comparatively tiny. How was that supposed to work?
J.K. Rowling describes Hagrid as almost twice the height of an ordinary man and at least five times as wide. And superpowers were needed: Hagrid should be able to twist the gun barrel that Harry’s Uncle Vernon is pointing at him into a knot “as if it were made of rubber”. No, only Coltrane was an option. As the guardian of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts, he brought a lot of warmth to the “Harry Potter” films, as well as a good dose of slapstick. He was the lovable giant, a hearty tramp.
Dreaded interview partner
And he was a bit like that in real life too. He retired early to the country, where the world is still in order. He wasn’t one for the ailments of modern times. When J.K. Rowling was publicly tarred and feathered for her belief that sex existed (and Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe backed away from her), Coltrane couldn’t help but wonder. He doesn’t know why there is a “whole Twitter generation of people” just waiting to be offended. “They wouldn’t have won the war, would they?” No war could be won with people these days. One should calm down again, he thought. “Wise up, stand up straight, and carry on.”
Coltrane never said much, but he didn’t let himself be told either. He was one of the feared interviewees among journalists, he could be biting. But he never took himself too seriously. When he shot “Ocean’s Twelve” (2004), he was sitting at the table with George Clooney, Matt Damon and Brad Pitt: “These are about the three most successful, most beautiful actors in the world. And here I am, the fat boy from Rutherglen. What the hell am I doing here?”
Rutherglen is near Glasgow, 30,000 inhabitants. Robbie Coltrane was born Anthony McMillan, later changing his name in honor of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The family is middle class, the mother a pianist and teacher, the father a general practitioner who also works as a forensic scientist and – according to the son – spends the weekends sewing together victims of stabbings.
The school is strict, Robbie rebels. He is almost expelled for hanging the prefects’ robes on the clock tower. He is also on the rugby team and captain of the debating club. Then he chooses an art school to become a painter. He wanted to paint “like those who made me cry about humanity,” he said. “Titian, Rembrandt.” But at the diploma exhibition he had to realize “that all the things I had in my head could not be seen on the screen”. He had the feeling “that something was wrong with my hands. It was a heartbreaking day.”
Sometimes in a wheelchair
He started acting in art school, one thing leads to another, soon he will be a leading TV comedian. With British slapstick like “Nuns on the Run” (1990) and “The Pope Must Die” (1991), he also made it into the movies, thanks to two appearances on James Bond, in “GoldenEye” (1995) and “The World Is Not Enough» (1999), every child knows him. In a poll of the most famous Scotsman, he came sixth, beaten only by Sean Connery, William Wallace and the Loch Ness Monster.
Coltrane had been quiet for the past few years, he was in poor health and was temporarily dependent on a wheelchair because of arthrosis. Robbie Coltrane died on Friday at the age of 72 in a hospital in Larbert, Scotland. His environment did not comment on the cause of death.