BIG MAN ON CAMPUS ROBBIE COLTRANE WAS THE PERFECT CHOICE FOR HAGRID IN 'HARRY POTTER'.Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer HERTFORDSHIRE, England - Robbie Coltrane surveys the cluttered clut·ter n. 1. A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble: sorted through the clutter in the attic. 2. A confused noise; a clatter. v. walls of Knebworth House, the castle in which interviews for ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' have been taking place. As he regards a wall displaying a trio of ancient 12-foot-long lances, he evinces ancient British history as he observes, ``Can you imagine 4,000 of these coming at you? A little bit of pressure.'' He next appreciates several diminutive di·min·u·tive adj. 1. Extremely small in size; tiny. See Synonyms at small. 2. Grammar Of or being a suffix that indicates smallness or, by semantic extension, qualities such as youth, familiarity, affection, or suits of armor mounted on the castle walls, and Coltrane, a sizable siz·a·ble also size·a·ble adj. Of considerable size; fairly large. siz  a·ble·ness n. guy who measures 6-foot-plus
and close to 300 pounds, asks, ``They were wee fellas, weren't
they?''
As Rubeus Hagrid, the 8 1/2-foot-tall gentle giant who befriends Harry Potter and his pals in the blockbuster hit ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' Coltrane has, in the course of a weekend, gotten much, much bigger, transforming himself from a cult hero known for his comedy and his turns on the British TV series ``Cracker'' (transformed into an American series of which Coltrane charitably says, ``They were duff'') into an international icon that kids simply won't be able to get enough of. Director Chris Columbus notes that ``Potter'' author J.K. Rowling had but one casting suggestion for Hagrid: Coltrane. ``Robbie was just amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. ,'' Columbus says. ``He was great to work with - he has the best job of all because he's hidden (under a thick beard and wig). So when he's not Hagrid, he doesn't look anything like him, so he can go about his life.'' Playing tricks Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, fondly recalls he and his colleagues - Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. and Emma Watson This article is about the actress. For other people named Emma Watson, see Emma Watson (disambiguation). Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson[1] (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress. as Hermione Granger Hermione Jean Granger (first name pronounced IPA: /hɚˈmaɪəni/) is a fictional character in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. - and their escapades with Coltrane. ``Robbie Coltrane has a very good sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour ,'' Radcliffe says, ``which is good, because I changed the language on his mobile phone to Turkish.'' ``You might think that would be mildly inconvenient in·con·ven·ient adj. Not convenient, especially: a. Not accessible; hard to reach. b. Not suited to one's comfort, purpose, or needs: inconvenient to have no phone in the kitchen. , but it's worse than that,'' Coltrane elaborates. ``When you try to get back to the 'change-language' part of the menu on your phone, well, of course, it says, 'Change language' in Turkish. So was there anyone who spoke Turkish on the set? I don't think so. Someone in makeup knew somebody who was married to a Turkish guy, and it was something out of 'Fawlty Towers.' 'Ask what the Turkish is for change language.' 'We wouldn't say ``change language.'' 'Well, what do you say?' '' Coltrane relates the story thusly thus·ly adv. Usage Problem Thus. Usage Note: Thusly was introduced in the 19th century as an alternative to thus in sentences such as Hold it thus or He put it thus. , getting only vaguely perturbed per·turb tr.v. per·turbed, per·turb·ing, per·turbs 1. To disturb greatly; make uneasy or anxious. 2. To throw into great confusion. 3. . Radcliffe continues: ``We put 'kick me' signs on Robbie Coltrane's back. It took him about seven or eight kicks to figure it out.'' When Coltrane finally did figure it out, Radcliffe says, his not-so-innocent response was, ``Emma stuck it on.'' Coltrane responds: ``It didn't say just 'kick me.' It said, 'Kick my a-- hard.' '' The actor met with author Rowling in anticipation of his creating his performance. ``We talked about Harry Potter and wound up talking about everything - but then, Harry Potter is about everything. That's its appeal,'' Coltrane says. ``It's about so many different aspects of everyone's life. The magic is what everyone talks about, but it's not actually what's driving it. What's actually driving it is notions of friendship and loyalty and quite adult notions, which you wouldn't associate with children's literature children's literature, writing whose primary audience is children. See also children's book illustration. The Beginnings of Children's Literature The earliest of what came to be regarded as children's literature was first meant for adults. , which is what's wrong with children's books most of the time.'' A big lad, he is He continues, ``We talked about whether or not Hagrid was aware of that he was huge, or whether he had forgotten that. We decided that he had not forgotten, and that's why we made him move very slowly. We figured that at some point he had turned around very quickly in a diner diner, restaurant resembling the railroad dining car that is its source. In the mid-19th cent., the first dining cars that appeared on trains were nothing more than an empty car with a fastened-down table. George M. somewhere and killed three people. So he's aware of how strong he is.'' Coltrane's 8-year-old son was a big Harry Potter fan and upon hearing a film was in the works, responded, ``It'd better be good then, huh?'' Coltrane's response was exactly the same. Chief among Coltrane's worries were: ``Getting the balance right between the fact that Hagrid's potentially very dangerous, but also very nice and not being too shlocky with the kids, being friendly but not too sentimental. Columbus got it right - you know Hagrid's a good guy, but it's not laid on with a trowel.'' As he points out, and as Potter fans know, ``Whatever happens with Hagrid, you shouldn't be too cute, because in the future a lot of serious (stuff) happens.'' As for that future, producer David Heyman hints, ``If you look carefully at each of the actors' performances, particularly Robbie Coltrane ... you'll get a glimpse of what will happen in the future.'' Hence, the question is put to Coltrane: Is there a scene in which his performance was informed by his knowledge of future books? ``Nice try,'' he says with a laugh, turning to his wife, who is sitting in the room with him. ``He's good, isn't he? Those years in the FBI must've paid off!'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) leads young Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) into a new world in ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.'' |
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