Robbie Coltrane: big man, big talent. Born in Rutherglen, Perthshire, in 1950 and brought up in Glasgow, Coltrane has never fought shy of his Scottish roots while developing an extraordinary range of characters from American socialites to Russian gangsters. With 300 accents at his command, the actor has overcome the casting limitations that would normally restrict a man of his size and weight. When the distinguished American film critic Pauline Kael described him as a "low-rent Orson Welles", Coltrane jokingly declared that he could retire, being compared with one of his greatest cinematic heroes was the kind of accolade that went straight to his heart.
Neil Norman's colourful biography explores the career of this talented big man.
