Raphael Coleman, who starred in Nanny McPhee, has died at the age of 25.
The former actor’s death was announced by his mother Liz Jensen, who wrote in a statement 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 was working for Extinction Rebellion at the time of his death, and his stepfather Carsten Jensen said he “collapsed without prior health problems”.
He 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 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.”
People who worked with Coleman have been paying tribute to him on social media, with his Nanny McPhee co-star Eliza Bennett tweeting: “I was so heartbroken to hear about Raphael (now James Iggy). After we worked on Nanny McPhee, he dedicated his life to protecting wildlife and fighting climate change. I’m honoured to have crossed paths him & my heart is with his family in this dark time.”
Coleman starred as Eric Brown in the 2005 children’s film Nanny McPhee alongside Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, before going on to appear in the movies It’s Alive and The Fourth Kind.
He won the award for Best Young Actor at the British Independent Film Festival in 2010.
After moving away from acting, Coleman began using the name James Iggy Fox and started working for Extinction Rebellion.
