Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) 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.
Not to be confused with Alan Richman.
Alan Rickman
Rickman's first film role came when he was cast as the German terrorist leader 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 (1995), Sense and Sensibility (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 in Quigley Down Under (1990), Dogma (1999), Galaxy Quest (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).
On television, Rickman made his acting 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 age 69.[2][3]
Career[edit]
1980–1988: Theatre roles and film debut[edit]
After graduating from RADA, Rickman worked extensively with British repertory and experimental theatre groups in productions including Chekhov's The Seagull and Snoo Wilson's The Grass Widow at the Royal Court Theatre, and appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival. In 1978, he performed with the Court Drama Group, gaining roles in Romeo and Juliet and A View from the Bridge, among other plays. While working with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), he was cast as Jaques in As You Like It, contributing an essay about his process to the RSC's book Players of Shakespeare 2.[32] His breakthrough role was in The Barchester Chronicles (1982), the BBC's adaptation of Trollope's first two Barchester novels, as the Reverend Obadiah Slope.[16][33][34]
Illness and death[edit]
Throughout 2005, Rickman received treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, culminating in a prostatectomy in January 2006. The operation coincided with the casting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and he deliberated over whether to return to the series, but decided in favour, stating: "The argument that wins is the one that says: 'See it through. It's your story.'"[103]
In August 2015, Rickman had a minor stroke, which led to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.[3] He revealed that he had terminal cancer to only his closest confidants. On 14 January 2016, he died in London at the age of 69.[104] His remains were cremated on 3 February 2016 in the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green. His ashes were given to his wife, Rima Horton. His final two films, Eye in the Sky and Alice Through the Looking Glass, were dedicated to his memory, as was The Limehouse Golem, which would have been his next project.[105]
Legacy[edit]
Soon after his death, his fans created a memorial underneath the "Platform 9¾" sign at London King's Cross railway station.[106] His death has been compared to that of David Bowie, a fellow British cultural figure who died at the same age as Rickman four days earlier; like Rickman, Bowie died of cancer and kept his cancer diagnosis from the public.[107][108]
Tributes from Rickman's co-stars and contemporaries appeared on social media following the announcement. Since his cancer was not publicly known, some—like Ralph Fiennes, who "cannot believe he is gone", and Jason Isaacs, who was "sidestepped by the awful news"—expressed their surprise.[91] Sir Michael Gambon told BBC Radio 4 he was a "great friend" and "a real man of the theatre and the stage".[109] At a West End performance of the play that made him a star (Les Liaisons Dangereuses), he was remembered as "a great man of the British theatre".[110]
Harry Potter creator J. K. Rowling called Rickman "a magnificent actor and a wonderful man." Emma Watson wrote, "I feel so lucky to have worked and spent time with such a special man and actor. I'll really miss our conversations." Daniel Radcliffe appreciated his loyalty and support: "I'm pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in Britain and America. He didn't have to do that."[111] Evanna Lynch said it was scary to bump into Rickman in character as Snape, but "he was so kind and generous in the moments he wasn't Snaping about."[112] Rupert Grint said, "even though he has gone I will always hear his voice."[91] Johnny Depp, who co-starred with Rickman in two Tim Burton films, commented, "That voice, that persona. There's hardly anyone unique anymore. He was unique."[113]
Kate Winslet, who gave a tearful tribute at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards, remembered Rickman as warm and generous,[114] adding, "And that voice! Oh, that voice." Dame Helen Mirren said his voice "could suggest honey or a hidden stiletto blade".[91] Emma Thompson remembered "the intransigence which made him the great artist he was—his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me ... I learned a lot from him."[111] Colin Firth told The Hollywood Reporter that, as an actor, Rickman had been a mentor.[115] John McTiernan, director of Die Hard, said Rickman was the antithesis of the villainous roles for which he was most famous on screen.[116] Sir Ian McKellen wrote, "behind [Rickman's] mournful face, which was just as beautiful when wracked with mirth, there was a super-active spirit, questing and achieving, a super-hero, unassuming but deadly effective."[111] Writer/director Kevin Smith told a tearful 10-minute story about Rickman on his Hollywood Babble On podcast. Rickman's family offered their thanks "for the messages of condolence".[117]
An edited collection of Rickman's diaries from 1993 to 2015 was published in 2022 under the title Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries.[118][119]
On 30 April 2023, search engine Google commemorated Rickman with a Doodle.[120]