Looking For Robbie: A Biography Of Robbie Coltrane - Hardcover

Norman, Neil

2.4

5 ratings by Goodreads

9780752807492: Looking For Robbie: A Biography Of Robbie Coltrane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752807498 ISBN 13: 9780752807492

Publisher: Orion, 1999

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�I swore I�d never write another biography. Why did I say yes? Easy question, answer difficult. Amongst the shards of why, the abiding motivation is I like Robbie Coltrane. I like his work, I like the man, I like his location in the (in)human landscape of celebrity.�

This is not your usual �born here did that� biography. This is Neil Norman�s account of Coltrane and his work, of the process of finding out about someone who you don�t know, of living with someone who�s in your life but never part of it. It is a biography of Coltrane where you learn almost as much about the author and the notion of celebrity as anything else.

The bare bones are known: actor, comedian and auto-mechanic, Robbie Coltrane has 300 accents at his command and can fix anything from a vintage Cadillac Eldorado to a wonky cigar lighter. Born 48 years ago in Glasgow, Anthony Robert MacMillan is the son of a police surgeon and a pianist. Always a fat boy he developed his rapid wit to divert potential bullies. From stand-up comic to Comic Strip player to film (Mona Lisa) and TV star, Robbie Coltrane found real success in Tutti Frutti and even more in Cracker. His private life has had its wild moments, sometimes attributed to his reaction to the death of one of his sisters of a drug overdose while at university. He is now married to sculptress Rona Gemmell, 22 years his junior. They have a son called Spencer.

Those are the facts. You�ll be surprised what Neil Norman makes of them .

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Review:

Robbie Coltrane is the kind of guy who doesn't like the press; he doesn't like intrusive interviews and, as for folks rummaging round his dustbin of life, ... well, let's just not say what he reckons to them.

Neil Norman's job was therefore not an easy one. Despite being an acclaimed film critic on London's Evening Standard and the author of several other titles (including a Connery biography and the Insignificance movie tie-in), the closest contact Robbie allowed here was cosmic empathy.

The result is intriguing. Certainly, Norman's use of his sources is thorough. His press-cuts research is good; his content analysis of the Cracker series worthy of a character study by Fitz himself--but one does wonder how many of the authors' conclusions (usually based on Coltrane's on-screen personalities) are the product of old-fashioned "hunches" rather than more scientific analysis of the man's real life.

In any case, the read here is entertaining. Really, it is a biography of a film career rather than a life, with each performance impeccably dissected. To maintain a happy balance of interest, salient and affecting life events are allowed to creep in, along with a third-person Bridget Jones style account of yo-yo diets.

There are omissions here. Robbie's art school days are almost untouched; the disparity between his expensive schooling and unremarkable upbringing remains unquestioned and the whole Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance contradiction Robbie displays between his joint passions for things metaphysical and beautifully automotive remains largely unexplored (and just as well, you may be thinking).

Do not be mistaken into believing that just because the study is incomplete, it is not worthwhile. Neil Norman really did go looking for Robbie and the film parts he found were big and wholesome. The search is still on, however, for the deep dark corners of the actor's mind. --Helen Lamont

Book Description:

An unusual biography of the charismatic Robbie Coltrane.

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