Raphaël Coleman, an actor best known for his work in Nanny McPhee , It’s Alive , and The Fourth Kind , has passed away at the age of 25.
Coleman’s mother confirmed the news on Twitter, writing, “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.”
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On the website Extinction Rebellion, Fox has written an essay about the movements he takes part in.
Above the essay, it now writes:
“He was 25, had given up a career in science to join XR and fought hard for the cause, especially for Indigenous rights. Iggy was a burning bright soul and he will be deeply missed by us all. Here is the article he wrote for issue 3 of The Hourglass newspaper.”
“I realized that as an activist my voice could be far more influential than it had been as a scientist,” he wrote.
“I don’t want to go to prison, but I’ll face whatever I need to.”
“My actions aren’t about sacrifice, or arrest for the sake of it.”
“Knowing the science, I have no choice but to tell the truth, and stick to my morals in the face of that truth. I won’t stand by and watch the world burn.”
“I’m rebelling in love for this world and the wild.”
“In compassion for the Indigenous, local and First Nations peoples who are persecuted protecting the ecosystems we all need to survive.”
“In rage for the environmental defenders murdered every week – my siblings in the fight for life.”
He truly sounded like such an astonishing person.
Coleman’s stepfather wrote on Facebook, “‘I guess there’s nothing that makes you see death as unfair and meaningless as when a young person dies.”
“It’s life itself that’s sabotaged. It just happened to my wife, Liz, whose youngest son, Raph of only 25, died last Friday,” he shared .
He began his post with the words, “To die young.”
And those feelings of unfairness and lost meaning were compounded by how suddenly it happened.
“He collapsed without prior health problems in the middle of a trip and could not be restored.”
“I got to know raph when he was six years old, and we were so close,” he wrote.
Coleman’s friends, fans, and family have taken to social media to share in their grief.
Fans of his acting work remembered growing up alongside him and loving his performances in these powerful moves.
A friend of his on Twitter shared some touching memories.
She revealed that he frequently went by the name Iggy, which was chosen after his neighbor’s cat. “He was passionate and wildly intelligent, funny and eccentric, he was so full of life and love for this world,” they continued .
“I think he’d find it hilarious that people are STILL sharing photos of him in Nanny McPhee,” they added.
“We used to tag him in photos every time it aired on tv and take the piss. He was well and truly one of a kind,” they said.
Extinction Rebellion shared a message in honor of Coleman’s passing on their website.
“Iggy died as he lived: trying to make the world a better place, training to stop poachers in Africa and surrounded by trees and people who cared about him,” they wrote
“Iggy was always so full of passion for life.”
“For ecological and social justice, Indigenous rights, “for the wild”, as he liked to say. And of course for vegan flapjacks.”
Our thoughts are with Coleman’s loved ones, family, and friends at this tragic time. Coleman was 25.
