Robbie Coltrane was a Scottish actor who gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series.
He was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
His mother, Jean Ross (Howie), was a teacher and pianist, and his father, Ian Baxter McMillan, was a general surgeon who also worked for police pathology.
Coltrane was fond of art, music, films, and cars and he was a voracious reader of his dad’s books on medicine and crime.
Coltrane attended Glasgow Art School, majoring in drawing, painting, and film, then studied art at Edinburgh’s Moray House College of Education for a year.
In 1973, he made a documentary titled, Young Mental Health, which was voted Film Of The Year by the Scottish Education Council.
At that time, Robbie took the name Coltrane, due to his love of jazz, and began a career as a stand-up comedian at nightclubs, at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as an actor with Edinburgh’s renowned Traverse Theatre.
Coltrane became a well-known face through appearances in The Comic Strip series, then in Alfresco (1983) and Comic Strip movies The Supergrass (1985) and The Pope Must Diet (1991), among other films.
He also appeared as Dr. Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald in the British TV series Cracker.
In 1990, Coltrane received the Evening Standard British Film Award – Peter Sellers Award for Comedy, and was married to Rhona Gemmell, with whom he had two children.
Robbie Coltrane cause of death
Coltrane passed away at the age of 72 on October 14, 2022.
According to multiple reports, his official cause of death was multiple organ failure.
The death certificate also noted that Coltrane suffered from sepsis, lower respiratory tract infection, and heart block before his passing.
He had been diagnosed with obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Coltrane had spoken out about living in ‘constant pain’ because of osteoarthritis and had been in a wheelchair since 2019 because of his ailments.
He also spoke about his battle with alcoholism, which, according to SkyNews, came back during the years of filming the Harry Potter franchise.
Robbie Coltrane career
Coltrane was known for his roles in both television and film.
His most famous role was as Dr. Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald in the British television series, Cracker, during the 1990s.
Coltrane also appeared in other television shows such as Alfresco, Tutti Frutti and Blackadder.
He also played the role of Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series, which began in 2001, and also appeared in other films such as Mona Lisa and Henry V.
Coltrane began his career as a stand-up comedian, performing at nightclubs and the Edinburgh Festival.
He also wrote an autobiography titled, Coltrane in a Cadillac, and starred in the eponymous TV series, in which he indulged his passion for vintage cars and told with great humor about his 4000-mile journey across America from Los Angeles to New York.
Coltrane attended the Glasgow School of Art, where he focused mainly on drawing and painting.
He also made a documentary titled, Young Mental Health, which was voted Film Of The Year by the Scottish Education Council.
Coltrane was married to Rhona Gemmell, with whom he had two children named Alice and Spencer.
He was also known for his love of vintage cars and rebuilding and collecting them.
