Rip Robbie Coltrane

[Redhelen72]

Breaking news

A fine actor

[naomi24]

Arksided, Hagrid was in the books …Robbie Coltrane was Hagrid. ;o)

[tiggerblue10]

RIP Robbie

Very sad, such a great actor and comedian at the start of his career.

[fender62]

The Comic Strip, he played character dressed in medieval costume and had a staff, very funny ep but cannot remember what the ep was called.

[10ClarionSt]

He was a great actor. Cracker was just that. But I've never heard of Hagrid. RIP.

[Zacs-Master]

Such a shame he’s being referred to as a Harry Potter actor. He wasn’t even in 3rd gear in HP. Whereas in Cracker he was in overdrive. Marvellous human being and actor.

[naomi24]

I know him as Hagrid, zacs. That’s not a shame. It’s an accolade. Why it’s deemed right or wrong for him to be known for any of his roles escapes me. We all appreciated his work in one way or another and that in itself is a worthy tribute to a fine actor.

[Ken4155]

Loved him in both Cracker - still remember the toilet scene where he had his nose broken - and Tutti Fruitti.

RIP Robbie.

[Khandro]

I don't believe in coincidences; this very morning before learning of his death, I found an old (paper) folder containing lots of old cuttings I had stored away long ago, I went through some of them & found, taken from a page of the Radio Times. 8-14 Nov. 1997, a questionnaire put to him while he was making Cracker.
The last of the 22 questions he was asked (& why I think I kept it) was 'What is the best advice you have ever been given?' to which his answer was, 'Have the courage to be ordinary - people make themselves so desperately unhappy trying to be clever and totally original'.

Lovely man! r.i.p. Robbie.

[pastafreak]

Cracker stands out for me as one of the all time great series. Naomi, if it by any chance is repeated, do watch. It's brilliant.
I too am a non-Harry Potter aficionado ...but I knew who Hagrid was.

[gness]

Last week, Pasta I began to watch episodes of Cracker. Addictive. RIP.

[ladybirder]

Anyone interested can watch it now on IV Hub. The whole three series. After reading this thread I shall start tomorrow.
https://www.itv.com/hub/cracker/1a1918

[Ken4155]

I'd like to believe that writer Jimmy McGovern had some input when it came to selecting the lead role for Cracker. Coltrane and McGovern were a match made in heaven.

[lady-janine]

RIP. Such a totally entertaining actor. I always enjoyed watching him no matter what he was in.
Condolences to his family and friends.

[ladybirder]

OMG JimmyMcGovern, it gets even better. Wish I wasn't too tired to start watching tonight.

[pastafreak]

Thanks LB...I'll look for it.

[Zacs-Master]

It’s only a shame because Hagrid wan nowhere near acting prowess. I didn’t say it was right or wrong, I merely expressed my views. You need to watch Cracker, Naomi.

[gordiescotland1]

Very sad. He was a fantastic actor. I loved him in Cracker. Seen all the episodes. I also saw him in a gay thriller called The Fruit Machine where he played a transvestite called Annabelle who was murdered. Anyone remember that?

[choux]

A great overview of Cracker in Wiki:
Fitz is a classic antihero: Scottish of Irish origin, alcoholic, a chain smoker, obese, sedentary, addicted to gambling, manic, foul-mouthed and sarcastic and yet cerebral and brilliant. He is a genius in his speciality: criminal psychology. As Fitz confesses in ‘Brotherly Love’: "I drink too much, I smoke too much, I gamble too much. I am too much."

I think a great actor is just like a great red wine - improving with age.

Strangely enough I had recently looked for news of Robbie as there had been no news of him for a while and read he was confined to a wheelchair and awaited an operation for which he had dieted considerably.

[Toorak]

A great actor. I loved him in Tutti Frutti, Cracker and, more recently, Cracker.

[Toorak]

More recently National Treasure