Alan Rickman
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 21, 1946
- Died
- January 14, 2016
- Birthplace
- Acton, London, England, UK
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).
Filmography
Here We Are Kings: The Making of 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' 2022
as Self (archive footage)
The Limehouse Golem 2016
In Memory Of
Alice Through the Looking Glass 2016
as Absolem / Caterpillar (voice), In Memory Of
National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 2016
In Memory Of
Eye in the Sky 2015
as Lieutenant General Frank Benson, In Memory Of
A Little Chaos 2015
as King Louis XIV, Director, Writer
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film 2014
as Self
Dust 2013
as Todd
CBGB 2013
as Hilly Kristal
Muse of Fire 2013
as Self
A Promise 2013
as Karl Hoffmeister
The Butler 2013
as Ronald Reagan
Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard 2012
as Self
BAM150 2012
as Self
Gambit 2012
as Lionel Shahbandar
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2011
as Severus Snape
The Boy in the Bubble 2011
as The Storyteller (voice)
Portraits in Dramatic Time 2011
Actor
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 2010
as Severus Snape
The Song of Lunch 2010
as He
The Wildest Dream 2010
as Noel Odell (voice)
Alice in Wonderland 2010
as Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)
Harold Pinter: A Celebration 2010
as Self
Sonnet Number 12 2009
as (voice)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009
as Severus Snape
Bottle Shock 2008
as Steven Spurrier
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Burton + Carter + Depp = Todd 2008
as Self
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2007
as Judge Turpin
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007
as Severus Snape
Nobel Son 2007
as Eli Michaelson
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 2006
as Richis
Snow Cake 2006
as Alex Hughes
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005
as Severus Snape
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 2005
as Marvin (voice)
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson 2004
as Other Voices (voice)
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter 2004
as Self - Professor Snape
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004
as Severus Snape
Something the Lord Made 2004
as Dr. Alfred Blalock
Love Actually 2003
as Harry
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film 2003
as Self - M
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002
as Severus Snape
Judge Not: In Defense of Dogma 2002
as Self
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2001
as Severus Snape
The Search for John Gissing 2001
as John Gissing
Play 2001
as Man
We Know Where You Live. Live! 2001
as Self
Blow Dry 2001
as Phil Allen
Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged 2001
as Self
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings 2000
as Captain George Fallon
Babitsky's War 2000
as Narrator
Dark Harbor 1999
as David Weinberg
Galaxy Quest 1999
as Alexander Dane
Dogma 1999
as Metatron
Judas Kiss 1998
as Detective David Friedman
The Winter Guest 1997
as Man in street, Director, Writer
Michael Collins 1996
as Eamon de Valera
Rasputin 1996
as Grigori Rasputin
Lumière & Company 1995
as (segment "John Boorman")
Sense and Sensibility 1995
as Colonel Christopher Brandon
Die Hard: With a Vengeance 1995
as Hans Gruber (archive footage) (uncredited)
An Awfully Big Adventure 1995
as P.L. O'Hara
Mesmer 1994
as Franz Anton Mesmer
Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast 1992
Actor
Bob Roberts 1992
as Lukas Hart III
Close My Eyes 1991
as Sinclair
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 1991
as Sheriff of Nottingham
Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie 1991
as Self
Truly Madly Deeply 1991
as Jamie
Closet Land 1991
as Interrogator
Quigley Down Under 1990
as Elliott Marston
Revolutionary Witness 1989
as Jacques Roux
The Spirit of Man 1989
as Israel Yates
7 Deadly Sins: Stage Acting 1989
as Narrator (voice), Writer
The January Man 1989
as Ed
- Benefactors
Benefactors 1989
Actor
Die Hard 1988
as Hans Gruber
Pity in History 1985
as Croop
Wetherby 1985
as TV Commentator (archival footage)
Busted 1983
as Simon
Romeo and Juliet 1978
as Tybalt
Credits from TMDB.