Robbie Coltrane, much loved as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films and known before for Cracker playing the clinical psychologist in the TV police drama, has died aged 72. Not renowned for a healthy lifestyle he was a binge eater and much like Cracker he said “I smoke too much, I drink too much . . . I am too much.” His friend actor John Sessions (once said: “Robbie has a strong self-destruct streak . . . a deep, driving melancholy.” After a career of playing morally ambiguous characters, he was delighted to play Hagrid – ‘the first time I’ve played someone thoroughly good.’
He was born 31 March 1950 at 3am in Glasgow into a middle-class family with a teacher/pianist mother and a surgeon/police pathologist father and was educated at a private school. He had a famously short temper and did struggle with depression which ran in the family.
After a slow start to his career with a diversion into Art School, he began to pick up work and once his career took off in the late 1980s he was never short of offers. Cracker in the 1990s pulled in 15 million viewers at its peak, almost unheard of for a drama in those days and won him three consecutive best actor Baftas. In recent years he has suffered from ill health, especially diabetes and osteoarthritis.
He had an upfront 3rd house Aries Sun and Mercury conjunct the North Node opposition Neptune and trine Pluto in the 8th and square a 6th house Uranus. He also had Saturn and a Virgo Moon in the 8th which would be where his melancholy was rooted. His Moon opposed Jupiter and Venus, which may have contributed to his over-eating; and his Pluto opposed Venus giving him a rumbustious love life. He had multiple relationships despite his unlikely appearance.
Mars in Virgo in the 9th would add to his 3rd house Aries planets in producing a communicative and argumentative streak. Uranus in the 6th does suggest health issues along the way and added onto an indulgent Venus Jupiter tied into his Moon over-eating would have been a temptation to stave off his 8th house Saturn Pluto glooms.
Tortured and talented – and he ended up much loved.
Another Scottish genius ,
RIP
First time I recall seeing Coltrane was in C4s Comic Strip film – The Supergrass. He was a big, intimidating character in that and the scene where he walks along the seawall is incredible given the conditions.
I note transiting Saturn in Gemini / Pluto in Sag would have been squaring his Virgo Saturn back in 2001 which is when the first Harry Potter film was made so that would seem to be an indication of why Hagrid took him in a new direction.
RIP Robbie