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Robbie Coltrane, one of Britain`s most popular comedians who was head of debating society at school, and won prizes for his art, is now an international film star who played in two James Bond films, and appeared as Rubeus Hagrid in the `Harry Potter` franchise.
He was born Anthony Robert McMillan on March 30, 1950, in Rutherglen, a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. His father, Ian McMillan, was a general surgeon who also worked for police pathology. His mother, Jean, was a teacher and a pianist. Young Robbie was fond of art, music, films and cars. He was a voracious reader of his dad`s books on medicine and crime. At age 12, he made his acting debut on stage at Glenalmond College, delivering rants from `Henry V`. At that time he was fascinated with Marlon Brando and Orson Welles.
He 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 of a stand-up comedian at night clubs, at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as an actor with Edinburgh`s renowned Traverse Theatre.
In 1980 Coltrane made his debut on television as Border Guard in BBC`s mini-series `The Lost Tribe`, then made his big screen debut as Limousine driver in Mort en direct, La (1980). In 1981 he appeared in his first leading role as Detective Fritz Langley in Subway Riders (1981), by the famed underground director Amos Poe.
He 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 Die (1991) among other films. At that time Coltrane had trouble with alcohol, having a bottle of whiskey a day; in 1986 he flew to a clinic in Mexico and was treated for obesity. In 1987, his partner for 15 years, Paine, left him for good, leaving her portrait in Coltrain`s barn.
In 1988 Coltrane met then 18-year-old Rhona Gemmell in a pub, they married and had a son, Spencer, and a daughter, Alice. His career took off during the early 90s with the leading role as Dr. Eddie `Fitz` Fitzgerald, a forensic psychologist, in the popular TV series "Cracker" (1993).
He made such a good performance as Valentin Zukovsky, a KGB man turned St. Petersburg mafia lord, in GoldenEye (1995), that they called him back for the same character in The World Is Not Enough (1999). Then Coltrane hit another lucrative franchise; he was personally selected by J.K. Rowling as her favorite choice to play half-giant Rubeus Hagrid in the `Harry Potter` films.
In early 90s Coltrane wrote an autobiographical book `Coltrane in a Cadillac`, and also starred in the eponymous TV series, where he indulges his passion for vintage cars, and tells with great humor about his four-thousand-mile journey across America from Los Angeles to New York. In 2003 he separated from his wife.
His interests outside of his acting profession has been reading books, and rebuilding and collecting vintage cars. Robbie Coltrane is residing in a converted farmhouse in Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK.
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(as Rubeus Hagrid)
with Frances De la tour
(as Madame Maxime)
in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
"In real life, I`m 6` 1" - each way pretty well, north and south and east and west, unfortunately."
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