Alan Rickman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rickman in 2011 | |
| Born | 21 February 1946 Acton, London, England |
| Died | 14 January 2016 (aged 69) London, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1974–2016 |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Full list |
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director known for his extraordinary character acting and his distinctively deep, methodical voice. Rickman trained at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987, he was nominated for a Tony Award.
Rickman made his film debut as the German criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991). He earned critical acclaim for Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991), An Awfully Big Adventure, Sense and Sensibility (both 1995), and Michael Collins (1996). He went on to play Severus Snape in all eight films of the Harry Potter series, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and concluding with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). His other notable film roles include those in Quigley Down Under (1990), Dogma, Galaxy Quest (both 1999), Love Actually (2003), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), its 2016 sequel, and Eye in the Sky (2015). He directed the films The Winter Guest (1997) and A Little Chaos (2014).
Rickman made his television debut playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1978) as part of the BBC's Shakespeare series. His breakthrough role was Obadiah Slope in the BBC adaptation of The Barchester Chronicles (1982). He later starred in television films, portraying Grigori Rasputin in the HBO film Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), which won him a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award and played Alfred Blalock in the HBO film Something the Lord Made (2004). In 2009, The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.[1] Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016, at the age of 69.[2][3]
- ^ Singer, Leigh (19 February 2009). "Oscars: the best actors never to have been nominated". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69". BBC News. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 20 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ Saul, Heather (15 January 2016). "Alan Rickman: British actor died from 'pancreatic cancer'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2018.