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).
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (49)
Here We Are Kings: The Making of 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'
as Self (archive footage)
2022
The Limehouse Golem
In Memory Of (Crew)
2016
Alice Through the Looking Glass
as Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)
2016
National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses
In Memory Of (Crew)
2016
Eye in the Sky
as Lieutenant General Frank Benson
2015
A Little Chaos
as King Louis XIV
2015
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
as Self
2014
Dust
as Todd
2013
CBGB
as Hilly Kristal
2013
Muse of Fire
as Self
2013
A Promise
as Karl Hoffmeister
2013
The Butler
as Ronald Reagan
2013
Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard
as Self
2012
BAM150
as Self
2012
Gambit
as Lionel Shahbandar
2012
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Severus Snape
2011
The Boy in the Bubble
as The Storyteller (voice)
2011
Portraits in Dramatic Time
2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Severus Snape
2010
The Song of Lunch
as He
2010
The Wildest Dream
as Noel Odell (voice)
2010
Alice in Wonderland
as Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)
2010
Harold Pinter: A Celebration
as Self
2010
Sonnet Number 12
as (voice)
2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
as Severus Snape
2009
Bottle Shock
as Steven Spurrier
2008
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd
as Self
2008
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
as Judge Turpin
2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
as Severus Snape
2007
Nobel Son
as Eli Michaelson
2007
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
as Richis
2006
Snow Cake
as Alex Hughes
2006
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
as Severus Snape
2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
as Marvin (voice)
2005
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
as Other Voices (voice)
2004
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
as Self
2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Severus Snape
2004
Something the Lord Made
as Dr. Alfred Blalock
2004
Love Actually
as Harry
2003
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
as Severus Snape
2002
Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma
as Self
2002
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
as Severus Snape
2001
The Search for John Gissing
as John Gissing
2001
Play
as Man
2001
Blow Dry
as Phil Allen
2001
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
as Captain George Fallon
2000
Babitsky's War
as Narrator
2000
Dark Harbor
as David Weinberg
1999
Galaxy Quest
as Alexander Dane
1999
