Raphael Coleman, Child Star of ‘Nanny McPhee,’ Dies at 25
Raphael Coleman, who starred as Eric in the 2005 Emma Thompson movie “Nanny McPhee,” died suddenly last Friday at the age of 25.
His stepfather, Carsten Jensen, shared the news on Facebook, noting that Coleman “collapsed without prior health problems in the middle of a trip and could not be restored.” Coleman’s mother, Liz Jensen, added on Twitter, “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.”
Coleman quit acting not long after the film came out and he went on to devote himself to environmental activism.
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In her Twitter post, Coleman’s mother linked to an essay he wrote for Extinction Rebellion, an organization dedicated to fighting climate change. That essay, entitled “This Is Why I Rebel,” has now been updated with a mention of Coleman’s passing.
Coleman made his screen debut in “Nanny McPhee” at the age of 11 playing Eric, a boy who had a penchant for playing with explosive ingredients. According to Jensen, he could have stuck with acting but decided to “save the planet” instead.
“When I think of Raph, I see something that will never die, a blunt of eternity, a light beam that lives forever in young people,” Jensen wrote in his Facebook post. “We believe that it is us, the older generations who have something to give the young people. We believe that we are the ones who pass the baton of life to them. But I think it’s the other way around. The young people remind us why we’re alive. They remind us of the purpose of life that this is the gift we must not in distraction until we have unpacked it.
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