After Robbie Coltrane appeared as Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, the actor solidified
his place in pop culture history as the fan-favorite Hogwarts gamekeeper.
Join us as we take a look at where the actor has been since he left Hagrid behind.
His post-Potter work struggled
Robbie Coltrane has been largely heard but not seen ever since leaving the Wizarding
World behind in 2011.
With a turn to voice acting on a handful of projects, including Pixar's Brave, the BBC's
The Gruffalo's Child, and Arthur Christmas, his return on screen was unfortunately anything
but magical.
The actor reunited with fellow Potter stars Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort, and Helena
Bonham Carter, who was Bellatrix Lestrange, in the 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens'
classic Great Expectations.
Notably, Coltrane's portrayal of Jaggers marked a massive departure from Hagrid.
As he told The Scotsman,
"Jaggers is a great character.
He's a heartless bastard and it's very nice to get a part like that to play, I must say."
Sadly, the project itself garnered mixed reviews and ultimately performed well below expectations.
Meanwhile, Coltrane's next role on the big screen fared even worse.
He starred in Effie Gray, a biographical period drama starring Dakota Fanning, which was written
by Emma Thompson, who played Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter franchise.
The movie earned a low 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes in 2014.
While these projects allowed the actor to continue working steadily in showbiz, they
mostly went unnoticed.
A bad rep?
Robbie Coltrane's developed a no-nonsense approach to navigating his Harry Potter fame,
and he takes no prisoners when it comes to keeping his personal life private.
This has led to the perception that the normally affable actor is as menacing in real life
as some of the characters he's portrayed.
"Just a rather ill-natured man of a certain age."
While Coltrane has infamously grown weary of being approached by disrespectful fans,
the movie star is also known to quickly shut down intrusive questions.
During his 2012 interview with The Guardian, for example, he followed up an answer to a
personal question with,
"If you write that down I will kill you."
Despite earning an alleged nasty reputation, Coltrane appears to still be an old softie
when it comes to being a role model to children, not unlike Hagrid.
He told The Guardian,
"Kids come up to you and they go: 'Would you like to sign my book?' with those big doe-eyes.
And it's a serious responsibility."
His National Treasure risk
Robbie Coltrane temporarily made his way back into the spotlight with National Treasure
in 2016.
The crime drama was inspired by Operation Yewtree, a British police investigation into
abuse allegations made against the late television personality Jimmy Savile, among others, in
2012.
Coltrane was reunited on the project with Harry Potter's Dame Julie Walters, who of
course played Molly Weasley.
Meanwhile, the Scottish actor led the series as Paul Finchley, a disgraced veteran comedian
who is accused of abuse.
The miniseries' sensitive material not only marked another notable departure from Hagrid,
it also posed the risk of offending audiences.
However, of the potential backlash, Coltrane told The Guardian,
"I don't care […] Drama has always illuminated what's actually going on in society, in a
way that the news or the internet doesn't."
Luckily, the risk more than paid off.
Amid the series' critical acclaim, Coltrane scored a BAFTA nomination for leading actor.
Concerns over his health
Robbie Coltrane's health has unfortunately been a cause for concern for years, which
spiked in 2015 when the actor fell ill during a flight from London to Orlando, Florida.
While being hospitalized overnight due to mysterious flu-like symptoms, he missed a
Harry Potter convention at Universal Studios, which fueled tabloid speculation regarding
his reported alcohol problems.
Coltrane's health issues sadly worsened with his ongoing battles with diabetes and osteoarthritis.
In 2012, he told The Guardian that he needed to lose weight in order to undergo surgery
on his knee to alleviate severe pain associated with his condition.
While promoting National Treasure four years later, he was spotted walking with a cane.
At the time, The Daily Mail quoted Coltrane as saying,
"I'm in constant pain all day."
Flash forward to March 2019, when Coltrane shocked fans while appearing in a wheelchair
at a Harry Potter event.
An optimistic Coltrane reassured fans, via The Sun, that he was, quote, "due a new knee"
and that following the operation he'd be "leaping around like an elf."
Hagrid turned to hosting
Following the success of National Treasure, Robbie Coltrane took a step away from acting
entirely to host Robbie Coltrane's Critical Evidence in 2016.
The crime investigation documentary series highlighted some of the most difficult murder
cases to be solved in British history.
While marking a departure from Coltrane's standing as an acclaimed actor, the titular
host revealed that his own personal interest in crime stories began as a child.
He was originally inspired by his police surgeon father to one day become a "hot detective"
himself before turning to acting.
He told the Express,
"The glorious thing about the series is that everyone in it went down for their crimes."
So far the true crime docuseries has had two seasons.
Turning it around
Robbie Coltrane may have spent much of his post-Hagrid career out of the spotlight, but
it hopefully won't be too long before the talented Scotsman graces our screens once
again.
In July 2018, the British actor's agent teased his highly anticipated comeback, telling the
Express,
"We have a couple of projects in development and are waiting for final scripts before we
can proceed."
Further details surrounding these upcoming projects, which reportedly include a film
and a televised thriller, have yet to be officially announced.
However, according to a source cited by the Express, Coltrane is reportedly aiming to
give, quote, "one last award-winning performance" on the small screen.
"Shouldn't have said that.
No more questions!
Don't ask anymore questions.
That's top secret, that is."
For his part, Coltrane has remained characteristically mum on the matter.
But we suspect that, despite his reported net worth of $4 million, he's not quite ready
to retire.
When asked about being considered a national treasure in 2016, he told The Guardian,
"Not yet.
That sounds kind of like being put on a shelf somewhere.
[...] I'm not ready for that."
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