While the world is still reeling from the death of singer/musician David Bowie earlier this week, we’re struck by the equally-shocking news from The Guardian about the death of actor Alan Rickman, also at the age of 69, also from cancer.
Rickman was a beloved actor from the stage and screen, probably best known for his role as Professor Severus Snape from the “Harry Potter” films, a character he successfully managed to bring to life to from the pages of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling books.
In 1988, after a decade of British theater and television roles, Alan Rickman came to Hollywood and made his big-screen debut as the villain Hans Gruber in Bruce Willis’ breakout film Die Hard. The role quickly cemented his status as one of the great film villains and he’d go on to play other villains before becoming Snape, such as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1991.
In 1996, he took on the role of Grigori Rasputin in the HBO film Rasputin, for which he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
But he also took on more likable characters such as alien science officer Alexander Dane in the sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, played Emma Thompson’s husband in Richard Curtis’ Love Actually after appearing with her in Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning Sense and Sensibility. They would reunite a second time for the 2010 BBC drama The Song of Lunch.
Possibly one of Alan Rickman’s finest performance, and sadly least-seen and little-known ones, was in a 2006 indie film called Snow Cake, directed by Marc Evans and co-starring Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss, in which he played a character that was closer to the warm and affable personality Rickman exuded in person.
Rickman also got behind the camera, directing the 1995 film The Winter Guest and more recently, the period romance A Little Chaos, which reunited him with Kate Winslet for the first time since they appeared together in Sense and Sensibility.
Beyond his television and film work, Rickman solidified his status as one of the finest stage actors with roles in many productions both in London and on Broadway, as well as directing a number of stage productions. He often worked with actress Lindsay Duncan and director Howard Davies, most notably on the 1986 production of “Les Liaisons Dangereus,” written by Christopher Hampton, for which Rickman was nominated for a Tony for his performance as Vicomte de Valmont.
Alan Rickman is survived by his wife Rima Horton with whom he had been together with for fifty years, although they only were married in 2012.
You can watch ComingSoon.net’s most recent interview with Mr. Rickman (and his star, Ms. Winslet) here. J.K. Rowling has paid tribute to Alan Rickman with the below tweets. You can also read Daniel Radcliffe’s statement here and Emma Watson’s tribute by clicking here.
There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman’s death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 14, 2016
My thoughts are with Rima and the rest of Alan’s family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 14, 2016
(Photo credit: WENN.com)
