Robbie Coltrane could make shamelessness funny without making it harmless. We rate him most highly in Cracker, where his comic confidence draws us towards a man whose company we might otherwise decline.
Fi1m perspective
In Cracker (1993), Robbie Coltrane’s Fitz lists his bad habits with so little embarrassment that he seems to expect credit for the disclosure. Coltrane finds the joke in that confidence and allows the demands on everyone else to register too. We laughed at his shamelessness, then felt uneasy at how readily we had warmed to him. This is Coltrane at his most persuasive: the humour keeps us listening, but he leaves us free to tire of the man.
The comedy was already there in the 1980s sketch work; Danny McGlone in John Byrne’s Tutti Frutti (1987) brought him to notice as a dramatic lead. That move into drama did not require him to leave the comedy behind. Fitz’s drinking, smoking and gambling are wearing, and the writing sometimes presses harder than it needs to; Coltrane keeps finding enough humour to hold our attention. We recommend the series with a qualification: it can remain delighted with Fitz long after his company has become tiring.
Cracker also makes a useful case for giving Coltrane colleagues who do not compete at his volume. Barbara Flynn’s restrained Judith Fitzgerald gives us welcome relief, while Geraldine Somerville’s Jane ‘Panhandle’ Penhaligon keeps our attention from settling permanently on Fitz. Cinematographers Ivan Strasburg and Dick Dodd keep the images unfussy and the actors foremost. The pacing works best when editors including Oral Norrie Ottey, Edward Mansell and Tony Cranstoun allow those quieter performances enough time to register beside him.
From Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), he played Rubeus Hagrid across eight films. Hagrid’s warmth and loyalty come with a vulnerability that gives Coltrane something to play beyond the character’s size. Some later casting leaned too readily on his stature. Start with Cracker, and give Flynn a little of the attention Fitz would prefer to keep.
Biography
Robbie Coltrane was a Scottish actor and comedian, born Anthony Robert McMillan on 30 March 1950 in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, and who died on 14 October 2022. He trained at Glasgow School of Art before beginning a career in stand-up comedy and acting in the late 1970s.
Coltrane gained national prominence for his leading role as criminal psychologist Dr. Edward 'Fitz' Fitzgerald in the ITV series Cracker (1993–1996, with a 2006 special), winning the BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor in three consecutive years (1994–1996). He received an OBE in the 2006 New Year Honours for services to drama.
He is also known for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011) and Valentin Zukovsky in the James Bond films GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). In 2011, he received a BAFTA Scotland award for outstanding contribution to film.
