Anthony Robert McMillan OBE (born 30 March 1950), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, is a Scottish actor and writer. His best known film roles are as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011), and as Valentin Dmitrovich Zhukovsky in the James Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). His other works include From Hell (2001), Stormbreaker (2006), Brave (2012), and Great Expectations (2012).
In television, Coltrane starred as criminal psychologist Dr. Eddie “Fitz” Fitzgerald in the ITV television series Cracker (1993–2006), a role which saw him receive the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in three consecutive years (1994 to 1996). In 2006, Coltrane came eleventh in ITV’s poll of TV’s 50 Greatest Stars, voted by the public. He was appointed an OBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for his services to drama.
Early life and education
Coltrane was born Anthony Robert McMillan in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the son of Jean Ross Howie, a teacher and pianist, and Ian Baxter McMillan, a general practitioner who also served as a forensic police surgeon. He has an older sister, Annie, and a younger sister, Jane. Coltrane is the great-grandson of Scottish businessman Thomas W. Howie and the nephew of businessman Forbes Howie.
He started his education at Belmont House School in Newton Mearns before moving to Glenalmond College, an independent school in Perthshire. Though he later described his experiences there as deeply unhappy, he played for the rugby First XV, was head of the school’s debating society and won prizes for his art. From Glenalmond, Coltrane went on to Glasgow School of Art, where he was ridiculed for “having an accent like Prince Charles” (of which he quickly disposed, though not before gaining the nickname “Lord Fauntleroy”), and thereafter Moray House College of Education (now part of the University of Edinburgh) in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Coltrane later called for private schools to be banned and used to be known as “Red Robbie”, rebelling against his conservative upbringing through involvement with Amnesty International, Greenpeace, the Labour Party and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Career
Coltrane in costume in the 1980s
Coltrane moved into acting in his early twenties, taking the stage name Coltrane (in tribute to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane) and working in theatre and comedy. Appearing in the 1981 BBC television comedy series A Kick Up the Eighties, his comic skills also brought him roles in The Comic Strip Presents (1982) series and the comedy sketch shows Alfresco (1983–1984) and Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee (1984).
Coltrane moved into roles in films such as Flash Gordon (1980), Death Watch (1980), Balham, Gateway to the South (1981), Scrubbers (1983), Krull (1983), The Supergrass (1985), Defence of the Realm (1985), Absolute Beginners (1986), Mona Lisa (1986) and appeared as “Annabelle” in The Fruit Machine (1988).
On television, he appeared in The Young Ones, Tutti Frutti (1987), as Samuel Johnson in Blackadder (1987) (a role he later reprised in the more serious Boswell and Johnson’s Tour of the Western Islands (1993)), and in a number of stand-up and sketch comedy shows. He played the part of Falstaff in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V (1989) He co-starred with Eric Idle in Nuns on the Run (1990), and played the Pope in The Pope Must Die (1991). He also played a would-be private detective obsessed with Humphrey Bogart in the TV play The Bogie Man.
His roles continued in the 1990s with the TV series Cracker (1993–1996, returning in 2006 for a one-off special), in which he starred as forensic psychologist Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald. The role won him three BAFTA awards.
Roles in bigger films followed; the James Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999), a supporting role in From Hell (2001), as well as half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films (2001–2011). J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, had Coltrane at the top of her list to play Hagrid and, when asked whom she would like to see in the role, responded “Robbie Coltrane for Hagrid” in one quick breath.
Coltrane has also presented a number of documentary programmes for the British ITV network based around his twin passions for travel and transportation. Coltrane in a Cadillac (1993) saw him cross North America from Los Angeles to New York behind the wheel of a 1951 Cadillac Series 62 coupe convertible, a journey of 3,765 miles (6,059 km) which he completed in 32 days.
In 1997, Coltrane appeared in a series of six programmes under the title Coltrane’s Planes and Automobiles, in which he extolled the virtues of the steam engine, the diesel engine, the supercharger, the V8 engine, the two-stroke engine, and the jet engine. In these programmes he dismantled and rebuilt several engines. He also single-handedly removed the engine from a Trabant car in 23 minutes.
In September 2006, Coltrane was voted No. 11 in ITV’s TV’s 50 Greatest Stars and sixth in a poll of 2000 adults across the UK to find the ‘most famous Scot’, behind the Loch Ness Monster, Robert Burns, Sean Connery, Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.
In August 2007, Coltrane presented a series for ITV called B-Road Britain, in which he travelled from London to Glasgow, stopping in towns and villages along the way.
Personal life
Coltrane married Rhona Gemmell on 11 December 1999. The couple have two children: son Spencer (b. 1992), and daughter Alice (b. 1998). Coltrane and Gemmell separated in 2003 and later divorced.
Filmography and awards
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Flash Gordon | Man at airfield | |
| Death Watch | Limousine Driver | ||
| 1981 | Subway Riders | Crime Detective | |
| 1982 | Britannia Hospital | Striking worker on picket line | Non-speaking role |
| 1983 | Ghost Dance | George | |
| Krull | Rhun | ||
| 1984 | Chinese Boxes | Harwood | |
| 1985 | National Lampoon’s European Vacation | Man in bathroom | |
| The Supergrass | Det. Sgt. Troy | ||
| Defence of the Realm | Leo McAskey | ||
| 1986 | Caravaggio | Scipione | |
| Mona Lisa | Thomas | ||
| 1987 | Eat the Rich | Jeremy | |
| 1988 | The Fruit Machine | Annabelle | |
| 1989 | Henry V | Falstaff | |
| Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool | Sid Trample | ||
| Let It Ride | Ticket Seller | ||
| Danny, the Champion of the World | Victor Hazell | ||
| Slipstream | Montclaire | ||
| 1990 | Midnight Breaks | Fat | |
| Nuns on the Run | Charlie McManus/Sister Inviolata | ||
| Perfectly Normal | Alonzo Turner | ||
| 1991 | The Pope Must Die | The Pope | |
| Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole | Steffano Baccardi | ||
| 1992 | Oh, What a Night | Todd | Nominated – Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role |
| 1993 | Boswell & Johnson’s Tour of the Western Isles | Dr. Samuel Johnson | |
| The Adventures of Huck Finn | Duke | ||
| 1995 | GoldenEye | Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky | |
| 1997 | Buddy | Dr. Bill Lintz | |
| 1998 | Frogs for Snakes | Al | |
| Montana | The Boss | ||
| 1999 | The World Is Not Enough | Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky | |
| Message in a Bottle | Charlie Toschi | ||
| 2001 | On the Nose | Delaney | |
| From Hell | Sergeant Peter Godley | ||
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | Rubeus Hagrid | Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
|
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting | |
| 2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Ocean’s Twelve | Matsui | ||
| Van Helsing: The London Assignment | Mr. Hyde | Voice | |
| Van Helsing | Mr. Hyde | Voice | |
| 2005 | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire | Rubeus Hagrid | |
| 2006 | Stormbreaker | The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| Provoked | Lord Edward Foster | ||
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Rubeus Hagrid | |
| 2008 | The Tale of Despereaux | Gregory | Voice |
| The Brothers Bloom | The Curator | ||
| 2009 | Gooby | Gooby | Voice |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Rubeus Hagrid | ||
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | ||
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | ||
| 2012 | Brave | Lord Dingwall | Voice |
| Great Expectations | Mr. Jaggers | ||
| 2014 | Effie | Doctor |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Play for Today | Jimmie | “Waterloo Sunset” |
| 1980 | The Lost Tribe | Border Post Guard | “Keep Us Alive” |
| 1981 | Metal Mickey | Jason | “Mickey the Demon Barber” |
| 1981–1984 | A Kick Up the Eighties | All 10 episodes | |
| 1981 | Keep It in the Family | Mr. Conway | “A Matter of Principle” |
| 1982 | Sin on Saturday | ‘’The Man Behind The Green Door ’’ | |
| 1982 | Five Go Mad in Dorset | Female shopkeeper / Male gypsy | Season 1, Episode 1 of The Comic Strip Presents |
| 1983 | Are You Being Served | Dynamite-truck driver on CB Radio | “Calling All Customers” |
| Alfresco | various | ||
| 1984 | Laugh??? I Nearly Paid My Licence Fee | ||
| 1984 | The Young Ones | Doctor in Episode “Bambi”, Bouncer in Episode “Oil”, Captain Blood in “Time” | |
| 1987 | Blackadder the Third | Samuel Johnson | “Ink and Incapability” |
| 1987 | Tutti Frutti | Danny McGlone | Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor |
| 1988 | Blackadder’s Christmas Carol | The Spirit of Christmas | |
| 1989 | The Robbie Coltrane Special | LWT comedy Special | |
| 1990 | Danny Champion of the World | Victor Hazell | |
| 1991 | Screen One | Psychiatrist Liam Kane | “Alive And Kicking” |
| 1993 | The Legend of Lochnagar | The old man | TV film, voice |
| 1993–1995 1996 2006 |
Cracker | Dr. Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald | Three British Academy Television Awards for Best Actor (1994, 1995 and 1996) Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor – Male Nominated – CableACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries For episode “Brotherly Love” (parts I, II and III). |
| 1997 | Coltrane’s Planes and Automobiles | 6-part documentary | |
| 1998 | The Ebb-Tide | Capt. Chisholm | |
| 1999 | Alice in Wonderland | Ned Tweedledum | |
| 2003 | Comic Relief: The Big Hair Do | Hagrid | |
| 2003 | The Planman | Jack Lennox QC | |
| 2004 | Pride | James | |
| 2004 | Frasier | Michael Moon | “Goodnight, Seattle” |
| 2005 | Still Game | Davie | Season 4, Episode 3: “Dial-A-Bus” |
| 2006 | Cracker: Nine Eleven | Dr. Eddie ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald | |
| 2007 | Robbie Coltrane – B Road Britain | TV Documentary | |
| 2009 | Murderland | D.I. Douglas Hain | |
| 2009 | The Gruffalo | The Gruffalo | TV film (children’s), voice |
| 2011 | Lead Balloon | Donald | Series 4 Episode 4: “Off” Series 4 Episode 5: “Blade” Series 4 Episode 6: “End” |
| 50 Greatest Harry Potter Moments | Himself | Narrator | |
| The Gruffalo’s Child | The Gruffalo | TV film (children’s), voice | |
| 2016 | National Treasure | Paul Finchley | TV film Monte-Carlo Television Festival for Outstanding Actor in a Mini Series Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor – Male Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor |
| 2016–2018 | Robbie Coltrane Critical Evidence | Host | True crime, non fiction, host |
| 2019; 2020 | Urban Myths | Orson Welles | Episode: “Orson Welles In Norwich” |
Other awards
- Coltrane won the Evening Standard British Film Award – Peter Sellers Award for Comedy 1990.
- He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2006 New Year Honours for his services to drama.
- In 2011, he was honoured for his “outstanding contribution” to film as the British Academy Scotland Awards (“BAFTA Scotland Awards”).