Alan Rickman
Born
February 21, 1946
Died
January 14, 2016 (69 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Hammersmith, London, UK
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman 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
Here We Are Kings: The Making of 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'
Self (archive footage)
2022
The Movies That Made Us
Hans Gruber (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2019
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)
2016
Eye in the Sky
Lieutenant General Frank Benson
2015
A Little Chaos
King Louis XIV
2015
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
Self
2014
Dust
Todd
2013
CBGB
Hilly Kristal
2013
Muse of Fire
Self
2013
A Promise
Karl Hoffmeister
2013
The Butler
Ronald Reagan
2013
Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard
Self
2012
BAM150
Self
2012
Gambit
Lionel Shahbandar
2012
Honest Trailers
Severus Snape (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2012
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Severus Snape
2011
The Boy in the Bubble
The Storyteller (voice)
2011
Portraits in Dramatic Time
2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Severus Snape
2010
The Song of Lunch
He
2010
The Wildest Dream
Noel Odell (voice)
2010
Alice in Wonderland
Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)
2010
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
Self
2010
Sonnet Number 12
(voice)
2009
Creating the World of Harry Potter
Self - 'Professor Severus Snape' · (8 episodes)
2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Severus Snape
2009
Bottle Shock
Steven Spurrier
2008
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd
Self
2008
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Judge Turpin
2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Severus Snape
2007
Nobel Son
Eli Michaelson
2007
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Richis
2006
Snow Cake
Alex Hughes
2006
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Severus Snape
2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Marvin (voice)
2005
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
Other Voices (voice)
2004
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
Self
2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Severus Snape
2004
Something the Lord Made
Dr. Alfred Blalock
2004
Love Actually
Harry
2003
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Severus Snape
2002
Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma
Self
2002
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Severus Snape
2001
The Search for John Gissing
John Gissing
2001
Play
Man
2001
Blow Dry
Phil Allen
2001
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
Captain George Fallon
2000
Babitsky's War
Narrator
2000
Dark Harbor
David Weinberg
1999
Galaxy Quest
Alexander Dane
1999
Dogma
Metatron
1999
The Directors
Self · (1 episode)
1999
Judas Kiss
Detective David Friedman
1998
The Winter Guest
Man in street
1997
King of the Hill
King Philip (voice) · (1 episode)
1997
Michael Collins
Eamon de Valera
1996
Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin
1996
Lumière & Company
(segment "John Boorman")
1995
Sense and Sensibility
Colonel Christopher Brandon
1995
An Awfully Big Adventure
P.L. O'Hara
1995
Mesmer
Franz Anton Mesmer
1994
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1993
Fallen Angels
Dwight Billings · (1 episode)
1993
Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast
1992
Bob Roberts
Lukas Hart III
1992
Close My Eyes
Sinclair
1991
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Sheriff of Nottingham
1991
Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie
Self
1991
Truly Madly Deeply
Jamie
1991
Closet Land
Interrogator
1991
Quigley Down Under
Elliott Marston
1990
Revolutionary Witness
Jacques Roux
1989
The Spirit of Man
Israel Yates
1989
7 Deadly Sins: Stage Acting
Narrator (voice)
1989
The January Man
Ed
1989
Benefactors
1989
Die Hard
Hans Gruber
1988
Girls On Top
Dimitri / Voice of RADA(voice) · (2 episodes)
1985
Wetherby
TV Commentator (archival footage)
1985
Busted
Simon
1983
The Barchester Chronicles
Obadiah Slope · (7 episodes)
1982
Smiley's People
(1 episode)
1982
Smiley's People
Mr. Brownlow · (6 episodes)
1982
Therese Raquin
Vidal · (3 episodes)
1980
Shelley
(2 episodes)
1979
Romeo and Juliet
Tybalt
1978
The BBC Television Shakespeare
Tybalt · (1 episode)
1978
The Hollywood Greats
(1 episode)
1977
Tony Awards
Self - In Memoriam (archive footage) · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee/Performer · (1 episode)
1956
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1944