Alan Rickman, who was born on 21 February 1946 in London, England, passed away on 14 January 2016. He was one of Britain’s fine actor personalities who dodged characterization alchemy throughout his successful and commendable theatre, film, and television career, whereby he depicted a diverse palette of characters, though wicked. As Hans Gruber, the scary foe in the action motion picture Die Hard (1988), Rickman made one of the scariest villains ever to grace the big screen.

To a whole new generation of cinemagoers, he was revealed in the 21st century as the master of dramatic introspection, playing the dark and enigmatic Severus Snape, who is revealed as the wary but adolescent teacher of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), who later transforms into an unexpected companion in the final part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Early Life

Rickman was born the middle child of three children to Bernard Rickman—a factory worker who died when Alan Rickman was eight years old—and Margaret. The parents of Alan Rickman grew up on a council estate, which is a type of British social housing. He first performed on stage at the age of 11, featuring in a school play, and afterwards has a degree in graphic design. Rickman attended Chelsea College of Art and Design and then the Royal College of Art, both in London. At the latter, he met Rima Horton, with whom he has been in a long-term relationship (he married her in 2012).

Rickman left school in the late 1960s, started his own design company in London, and briefly worked in the graphic arts until he suddenly realized that what he wanted to do was to act. He then went through the process of auditioning for the recognized Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, which is based in London, and got admission. Rickman had trained at RADA from 1972 to 1974, receiving some of their most distinguished awards for his performances. He then did stage acting with other British repertory and experimental theatre troupes and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Breakthrough Role

The big break for Rickman was in 1985 when he was cast as the lead in the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses in a role created with him in mind by playwright Christopher Hampton, who adapted the play from an eighteenth-century French novel at the request of the actor. “Alan was able to capture not only the viewer, Hampton continued, “but it appeared as though he also had a kind of hypnosis on the people he was sharing scenes with.”

Rickman originated the wickedly delicious performance on stage in London and later on Broadway, for which he was nominated for a Tony. In 1988 the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses was transferred to film with the title Dangerous Liaisons, and the actor John Malkovich got the part of Vicomte de Valmont.

Villainous Roles

Rickman was soon approached for his first movie in Hollywood—an indescribably wicked terrorist Hans Gruber who Bruce Willis’s valorous copper John McCLane outsmarts in Die Hard, which was released in 1988. Speaking later about the situation when he received the role for Die Hard, Rickman said, “I got Die Hard because I came cheap. They were paying Willis $7 million, so they had to find people they could pay nothing.”

After appearing alongside Tom Selleck in Quigley Down Under (1990), Rickman starred in three successful features in 1991: Close My Eyes; Truly, Madly, Deeply; and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves again as an indelible Sheriff of Nottingham. This role, accentuating the first impression made in Die Hard, cemented Rickman’s image as a “villain” actor—a title Rickman disliked: None of [my roles] do I view as one word. It doesn’t matter what I’m playing, and I think that nobody would be able to say that it is one word.”

Harry Potter Film Series

Rickman’s output slowed following his prolific year in 1991, although he made well-received appearances in Sense and Sensibility (1995) and in the title role of Rasputin: Death Servant of Destiny (1996), for which he won the Golden Globe as well as the Emmy television awards. He directed his first feature, The Winter Guest, co-written with his Sense and Sensibility actress Emma Thompson and her real-life mother Phyllida Law in 1997. He also delivered comedic roles in this year’s Dogma and the delightful sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest.

Rickman was also cast in several other films in the ’90s, but his next highly-publicized role was in the early part of the 2000s as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series. For the role of Snape, author J.K. Rowling wanted to cast Rick Man and provided additional unpublished information about the character a has been to prepare him for the part.

What was the cause of Alan Rickman’s death?

In August 2015, Rickman suffered a small stroke, after which pancreatic cancer was diagnosed. He told his closest friends and family that he had terminal cancer. On 14 January 2016, he died in London at the age of 69. His body was cremated on 3 February 2016 at the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green.

What did Daniel Radcliffe say when Alan Rickman died?

Here’s what Radcliffe wrote (emphasis mine): “Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter.

Who is Alan Rickman’s wife?

Rima Horton is the wife of Alan Rickman. They stayed together from 2012 to 2016.

Did Alan Rickman have kids?

After the wedding in New York, we strolled across the Brooklyn Bridge and had lunch. He quipped that he bought her a $200 ring she never wears. The couple never had any children, and Alan once quipped about this decision: “You should remember I am not the only one involved.

What did Alan Rickman say about Emma Watson?

Alan Rickman Criticized Emma Watson’s Diction in ‘Harry. ‘Harry Potter’ star Alan Rickman thought Emma Watson’s diction was ‘this side of Albania at times’ in early films, according toa  personal diary.