NEW YORK -- Robbie Coltrane may be a bit of a late bloomer, but he's making up for lost time.

Coltrane, 50, didn't make his first movie until he was 30 and that was in an uncredited cameo as a limo driver in the camp sci-fi movie Flash Gordon. Today, Coltrane is one of Britain's busiest film and television actors.

He just produced and starred in a pair of two-hour movies for British TV called The Planman, which he hopes may spin out into a series similar to his 1993-96 series Cracker.

He filmed a cameo in Ocean's Twelve, plays Mr. Hyde in Van Helsing and is one of the voice actors in a new animated TV series called Pride.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that opens Friday, Coltrane reprises his role as the giant Rubeus Hagrid.

Though the young fans of the Potter films have no problems picking Hagrid out in a crowd, Coltrane can wander undetected through airports and malls.

"Kids never recognize me. They just know the character and I am buried under tons of makeup, beard and costume but adults know who I am from my other movies," says Coltrane. "Parents love to score points with their children by pointing me out.

"I always know when that's happening by the confused look on the kid's face."

Though he is eager to start filming the fourth Potter movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Coltrane is not looking forward to getting back into the makeup.

"My makeup girls have finally got a technique so it's much easier on all of us. They've divided Hagrid's beard into pieces so it's not just one big chunk. We discovered it doesn't move naturally when it's a single unit," he explains, adding, "It's still revolting having your face covered in glue. It's a horrible, horrible thing and the only downside of these wonderful Potter movies for me."

Coltrane, who has been married to Rhona Gemmell for 15 years, has a son, Spenser, 12, and daughter, Alice, 6. "My kids love the Potter movies and are happy I'm part of them but they've not mesmerized by my makeup.

"They've seen me dressed as a nun (1990's Nuns on the Run) so Hagrid is no big deal for them. Getting into funny costumes is just what dad does."

Coltrane has noticed major changes with his young co-stars in the Harry Potter films, especially Daniel Radciffe who plays Harry.

"On the first movie, Daniel was like this big puppy dog. He was everywhere wanting to know everything. He asked questions non-stop. He wanted to know what everyone's job was and how every piece of equipment worked.

"Now he's telling us why things are done and how equipment works. He's amassed an enormous amount of knowledge."

Coltrane says Radcliffe used to ask him about acting. "It wasn't just idle chatter and it's paid off ... He's a real actor now. These Potter movies are just the beginning of his career if that's what he wants."

Coltrane insists Radcliffe is handling his celebrity like a real trooper.

"I was talking to Daniel's mom recently and she said when they visited Japan there were 3,000 girls waiting at the airport to catch a glimpse of him. His only reaction was to say this sort of thing goes with the territory."


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