And his work as a serious actor, in projects as diverse as Cracker, National Treasure and two James Bond movies, proved he had the chops to stand among the greatest actors of his generation.
Yet, in his later life, like many who were once dismissed as radical of politics, he became disappointingly conservative. His defence of JK Rowling, while clearly motivated by the money she made him, cut deep.
Oh, he'll always be a great actor and comedian. And his passing is a sad event - an indicator that, like Rik Mayall before him, these titans of the 80s and 90s are far from indestructible and will all start departing this realm in the next few years.
So in a way, I will still mourn his passing. But I also understand why so many trans and non-binary people are feeling very uneasy about people sharing Hagrid memes and openly expressing their love for Harry Potter once more.
A man with a long and varied career full of brilliant work that redefined the cultural landscape deserves to be known for so much more than being in that wizard shit written by a hateful human being. Understand that continued support of her work can feel like an open choice to support her views. Understand that her bigotry has forever tainted those who stand up for her regardless of the suffering she caused.
And maybe talk about how brilliant Cracker was, instead?
Here was a man who looked at people suffering, looked at the billionaire making their suffering worse, and chose to mock the former in defence of the latter.
Maybe he was ignorant of a struggle he was privileged to never have to experience. Maybe he'd only read the edited highlights in the tabloids and just wanted to defend a friend. But regardless, Coltrane lost a lot of my respect that day.