‘Harry Potter’ Actor Robbie Coltrane Starred in 2 Movies for George Harrison’s HandMade Films
Actor Robbie Coltrane was best known for his role as Hagrid in the Harry Potter films, but years before that, he made a name for himself by starring in two movies for George Harrison‘s HandMade Films.
He played Thomas in Neil Jordan’s 1986 film Mona Lisa and a robber disguised as a nun, Charlie McManus, in 1990’s Nuns on the Run.
Robbie Coltrane said it was intimidating meeting George Harrison when they first started working together in HandMade Films
In the documentary The Movie Life of George, Coltrane talked about his time making Mona Lisa with HandMade Films. The actor said meeting the Beatle was a bit intimidating.
He joked, “You don’t know what to do because I mean your immediate reaction to go, ‘Hey! It’s George!’ [Laughs], but you don’t, of course, because you’re a grownup. You go, ‘Hi George [yawns].'”
George definitely wouldn’t have liked it if Coltrane reacted in that way toward him.
Coltrane liked the story of HandMade Films’ ‘Mona Lisa’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Coltrane said he liked Mona Lisa‘s story. The film follows George, a low-level gangster recently released from prison. He’s given a job as a driver and bodyguard for a high-priced prostitute named Simone. Coltrane is Thomas, George’s friend.
“I like the story,” Coltrane said. “I like the fact that it was set in gang land but it wasn’t full of sort of gang land cliches like they usually are. Lots of people say, ‘I’m going to hit your teeth so far down your throat.’ [yawns].
“It was much more realistic and much more about the real brutality of it and it was funny and whimsical in a curious sort of way as well. You know, a lot of people didn’t like that, a lot of people thought that was unrealistic. But I’m sure gangsters have their whimsy like everyone else, I mean have you seen their houses?”
Coltrane joked that Bob Hoskins, who plays George, beat him up on set because Coltrane was being funnier than him. At the documentary’s end, Coltrane said, “I mean, after all, George Harrison doesn’t have to make films, does he? He can do anything he likes, really.”
Coltrane next worked with HandMade Films in 1990 on Nuns on the Run, another gangster-related movie. He co-starred with one of George’s closest friends, Eric Idle. Together they played gangsters Brian Hope (Idle) and Charlie McManus (Coltrane), who rob a fellow gang and are forced to hide in a nunnery.
George spoke about the film during an interview with Mark Rowland in 1989.
George spoke of Coltrane and ‘Nuns on the Run’
During his interview with Rowland, George mentioned Coltrane and HandMade Films’ upcoming film, Nuns on the Run.
“We’ve got a film coming out in February with Eric Idle [Nuns on the Run], which is really nice,” George said. “It’s a very silly film, a funny little film. There’s another guy—he’s done a few movies that have been shown here—he’s called Robbie Coltrane. He’s a big Scottish guy.
“He was in Mona Lisa, the one we made—he was Bob Hoskins’ friend. I know he’s been in two other films just recently, I can’t recall the titles. But those two are a couple of nuns. They end up in a nunnery; that’s basically what it’s about. It’s very silly; it’s a good laugh. It should be out in February.”
It’s unknown whether George and Coltrane became friends after working together on two movies for HandMade Films. However, Coltrane continued to support George even after he died by attending his tribute concert, Concert for George, in the early 2000s. Coltrane and George would’ve gotten along; they had keen senses of humor.
