Alan Rickman

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

88

Gender

Male

Birthday

1946-02-21

Day of death

2016-01-14 (69 years old)

Place of Birth

Acton, London, England, UK

Alan Rickman

Biography

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (February 21, 1946 – January 14, 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at 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's first cinema role came when he was cast as the German terrorist leader Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). He also appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), for which he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Elliott Marston in Quigley Down Under (1990); Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991); Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995); Eamon DeValera in Michael Collins (1997); Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest (1999); Metatron in Dogma (1999); Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series (2001–2011); Harry in Love Actually (2003); Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005); and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). Rickman made his television acting debut playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1978) as part of the BBC's Shakespeare series. His breakthrough role was in the BBC television adaptation of The Barchester Chronicles (1982). He later starred in television films, playing the title character in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), which won him a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and Alfred Blalock in Something the Lord Made (2004). Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016 at age 69. His final film roles were as Lieutenant General Frank Benson in the thriller Eye in the Sky (2015), and reprising his role as the voice of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland (2010) in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).

Known For

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • King of the Hill

    King of the Hill

  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien

    Late Night with Conan O'Brien

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

    Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

    Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  • Die Hard

    Die Hard

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • Sense and Sensibility

    Sense and Sensibility

  • Mesmer

    Mesmer

  • Michael Collins

    Michael Collins

  • Fallen Angels

    Fallen Angels

  • Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

    Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

  • Die Hard: With a Vengeance

    Die Hard: With a Vengeance

  • The Movies That Made Us

    The Movies That Made Us

  • Love Actually

    Love Actually

  • Busted

    Busted

  • Closet Land

    Closet Land

  • Lumière & Company

    Lumière & Company

  • Alice Through the Looking Glass

    Alice Through the Looking Glass

  • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

    Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

  • Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

    Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

  • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

  • Dogma

    Dogma

  • Galaxy Quest

    Galaxy Quest

  • Benefactors

    Benefactors

  • CBGB

    CBGB

  • Muse of Fire

    Muse of Fire

  • The Butler

    The Butler

  • The Directors

    The Directors

  • The Winter Guest

    The Winter Guest

  • A Little Chaos

    A Little Chaos

  • The Barchester Chronicles

    The Barchester Chronicles

  • Wetherby

    Wetherby

  • The Boy in the Bubble

    The Boy in the Bubble

  • Snow Cake

    Snow Cake

  • Play

    Play

  • Pity in History

    Pity in History

  • Smiley's People

    Smiley's People

  • Dust

    Dust

  • Something the Lord Made

    Something the Lord Made

  • 7 Deadly Sins: Stage Acting

    7 Deadly Sins: Stage Acting

  • Shelley

    Shelley

  • Eye in the Sky

    Eye in the Sky

  • Quigley Down Under

    Quigley Down Under

  • The Hollywood Greats

    The Hollywood Greats

  • The Song of Lunch

    The Song of Lunch

  • Gambit

    Gambit

  • Dark Harbor

    Dark Harbor

  • Bob Roberts

    Bob Roberts

  • Bottle Shock

    Bottle Shock

  • Close My Eyes

    Close My Eyes

  • Girls On Top

    Girls On Top

  • The January Man

    The January Man

  • Blow Dry

    Blow Dry

  • A Promise

    A Promise

  • Nobel Son

    Nobel Son

  • Rasputin

    Rasputin

  • The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

    The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

  • Judas Kiss

    Judas Kiss

  • Truly Madly Deeply

    Truly Madly Deeply

  • An Awfully Big Adventure

    An Awfully Big Adventure

  • Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

    Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

  • Therese Raquin

    Therese Raquin

  • Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma

    Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma

  • Romeo and Juliet

    Romeo and Juliet

  • Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie

    Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie

  • BAM150

    BAM150

  • The Search for John Gissing

    The Search for John Gissing

  • The Wildest Dream

    The Wildest Dream

  • Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film

    Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film

  • Falls the Shadow:  The Life and Times of Athol Fugard

    Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard

  • Revolutionary Witness

    Revolutionary Witness

  • Babitsky's War

    Babitsky's War

  • Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings

    Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings

  • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd

    Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd

  • Here We Are Kings: The Making of 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'

    Here We Are Kings: The Making of 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'

  • Harold Pinter:  A Celebration

    Harold Pinter: A Celebration

  • Portraits in Dramatic Time

    Portraits in Dramatic Time

  • Sonnet Number 12

    Sonnet Number 12

  • Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast

    Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast

  • The Spirit of Man

    The Spirit of Man