Robbie Coltrane, best known for his role as the beloved Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movie franchise, has died. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Scottish-born comic and actor was 72 years old.
Robbie Coltrane, a veteran Scottish-born comic and actor known for his star turns in the British crime series 'Cracker' and as Hagrid in the 'Harry Potter' movie franchise, has died https://t.co/sPGj73gaYs pic.twitter.com/u9EAcOMIjl
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 14, 2022
Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Glasgow, Scotland as the son of a doctor and teacher. After graduating from Glasgow Art School, he continued his studies in art at Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh. The Scotsman began his career in comedy and theater, even starring in two James Bond films playing Valentin Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. When his attempts to become an artist failed, Coltrane took up stand-up comedy in Edinburgh clubs and changed his last name in honor of the jazz legend John Coltrane as he turned to acting in London.
Coltrane’s early TV credits include Flash Gordon, Blackadder and Keep It in the Family. The actor’s breakout role was playing Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, an anti-social criminal psychologist with a gift for solving crimes, in Jimmy McGovern’s Cracker series, which ran over 25 episodes between 1993 and 2006.
Coltrane penned an autobiography and starred in a TV series called Coltrane in a Cadillac in 1993, where he drove across America from Los Angeles to New York City in a classic 1951 Cadillac car.
Robbie Coltrane was married to Rhona Gemmell from 1999-2003. The couple did not have any children together.