In Memoriam: Harry Potter Star, Alan Rickman

The entertainment world has lost another amazing talent with the passing of Alan Rickman. The British Actor was 69 and succumbed to cancer.

Alan Rickman was born Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman on February 21, 1946.  Although he is best known for his roles as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Grueber in Die Hard, Rickman was an award-winning actor who had an illustrious career that spanned decades. He starred as Rasputin in HBO’s Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, winning both a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

Rickman had a career filled with a wide range of roles.  He played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.  This role won him a position in AFI’s 100 Years: Heroes and Villains. He was given the title of 46th Best Villain in film history. Fans of Harry Potter can attest to this after seeing his chilling performance as Professor Severus Snape. Other performances include Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply,  Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility. Although he was a dramatically trained actor, Alan Rickman has some comedic roles on his resume such as the character of Sir Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus in Galaxy Quest, angel Metatron in Dogma and Harry in Love Actually. He lends his voice talent to Marvin in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He was supposed to provide the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek but decided to play Severus Snape instead.  As a huge Harry Potter fan and a fan of Alan Rickman’s Snape, I can’t imagine any other actor playing the character.

In addition to television and film roles, Alan Rickman appeared in Private Lives and Cleopatra.

Alan Rickman was originally a graphic designer.  We received the benefits of his career change.  His creative talent was better served on-screen.

Rest in Peace Alan Rickman.