'Nanny McPhee' actor Raphael Coleman dies at 25
Raphael Coleman, one of the children who starred in the 2005 Emma Thompson movie Nanny McPhee, has died at 25.
His death was announced by family members, both his mother, Liz Jensen, and his step-father, Carsten Jensen, on social media. The latter disclosed, “He collapsed without prior health problems in the middle of a trip and could not be restored,” according to The Daily Mail.
Coleman was 11 when the high-profile family film, which also starred Colin Firth, was released. He and several other actors in the cast were singled out for recognition at the Young Artist Awards, whose past winners include Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina King and Mila Kunis. He earned his only other acting credits in 2009, when he appeared in horror film It’s Alive, the Milla Jovovitch thriller The Fourth Kind and a comedy short, Edward’s Turmoil, for which he won an award for recognition as the Best Young Actor at the Brussels Short Film Festival.
The British newspaper reported that, as an adult, Coleman went by the name Iggy Fox and worked with the group Extinction Rebellion, whose members define it as an “international movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience in an attempt to halt mass extinction and minimise the risk of social collapse.”
Fox wrote in an undated essay that he had left a career in science to work with the organization.
“After seven years studying, researching and protecting nature as a wildlife conservationist, I stopped fieldwork and deferred an MSc in order to rebel full-time,” he wrote. “Because no matter how many surveys I ran, how many turtle nests I protected, or how many young people I educated about ‘sustainability’, the seas kept rising, forests kept burning, plastic kept clogging the beaches, and our data kept showing that wildlife was being decimated.”
This is incredibly sad news.
James ‘Iggy’ Fox passed away on 6 February. He was 25, had given up a career in science to join XR and fought hard for the cause, especially for Indigenous rights.
Iggy will be deeply missed by us all. https://t.co/WihyNtavb2— Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍 (@XRebellionUK) February 7, 2020
Writing about his sudden death, his mother declared that his family “could not be prouder” of him for “working for the noblest cause of all.”
Rest in peace my beloved son Raphael Coleman, aka Iggy Fox. He died doing what he loved, working for the noblest cause of all. His family could not be prouder. Let’s celebrate all he achieved in his short life and cherish his legacy https://t.co/qFRKPT7rRG
— Liz Jensen (@LizJensenWriter) February 7, 2020
The internet memorialized Coleman, for both his movie work and for his generous efforts to save the environment.
My love and thoughts with @LizJensenWriter today - please take the time to read about the work of her beloved son Raphael Coleman in honour of him and his vital work in the world. Deepest sympathy and love my friend. https://t.co/X4wC79iLJ5
— jacquilofthouse (@jacquilofthouse) February 8, 2020
So sad to hear Rapha?l Coleman has died R.I.P 💔😢 my favourite character in Nanny McPhee was always Sebastian ? pic.twitter.com/SVxGQkRPGM
— Danielle Johnson (@DanniJavaid94) February 10, 2020
some things people need to know about this human: he wasn't just 'nanny mcphee actor raphael coleman'. he was one hell of a person who lived one hell of a life. we all called him iggy, a name he'd given himself (after his neighbour's cat). he was passionate and wildly intelligent pic.twitter.com/Bt8HwuhkoE
— fatatouille (@elliebegood) February 10, 2020
RIP Raphael Coleman
You will be missed, always will remember how good of an acter you was in nanny McPhee????— babyyyNish (@BabyyyNish) February 10, 2020
RIP Raphael Coleman so sad so young 😔
— LadyValkyrieX (@Ladyvalkyriex) February 10, 2020
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