Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Hello, fellow moviegoers. It is with great sadness in this obituary that English thespian Alan Rickman died of cancer on January 14th, 2016. He was 69 years old. Rickman was best known to many older audiences as the cold Slytherin teacher of Hogwarts, Severus Snape, in the "Harry Potter" series. His other notable roles include the ruthless German criminal mastermind Hans Gruber in "Die Hard", the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", Jamie in "Truly, Madly, Deeply", Colonel Brandon in "Sense and Sensibility", Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest", Harry in "Love Actually", the reluctant recluse Alex Hughes in "Snowcake" and Judge Turpin in "Sweeney Todd". I send my condolences to his family and friends who have stood by his side at his passing. The charisma, ego and sheer brutality that Rickman brought to his famous characters is something I will never forget.
He was born on February 21st, 1946, in Acton, London and raised by a working-class family. He was about eight years old at the time of his father's death. Rickman worked with British theatre groups and the Royal Shakespeare Company in stage productions after graduating from two colleges and a drama school. He made brief appearances on television in serials and TV shows for ITV and BBC. His stardom on the stage moved into the cinema when discovered by American Director - John McTiernan, who was looking for an English actor to portray a foreign terrorist leader in a big-budget action movie that is to be entitled "Die Hard". Rickman almost turned down the role in "Die Hard", but the release of his film debut catapulted him into his newfound fame at age 41. He went on to play roles in a wide variety of characters in the films "Truly, Madly, Deeply" and "Sense and Sensibility" in romantic leads and as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves".
After starring in roles as Sir Alexander Dane in "Galaxy Quest" and Metatron in "Dogma", Rickman came to the attention of author J. K. Rowling and was her personal choice to portray the teacher of potions, Severus Snape, in the movie adaptation series of "Harry Potter". The first is "The Philosopher's Stone" and ends with "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" as his last. Throughout the series, Rickman's interpretation of the character has been the subject of critical acclaim. It was unanimous for him to be part of the new generation of audiences who now adore him as the actor who plays Professor Snape. During his time as the character that he portrayed in the Harry Potter films, Rickman also featured in films like "Love Actually", and "Snow Cake", opposite Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Anne-Moss, and as the Judge in Tim Burton's adaptation of "Sweeney Todd" opposite Johnny Depp. He was also known for his soft-spoken, deep voice that earned him voiceover roles in other live-action movies, such as the character Marvin the Android in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and the Caterpillar in "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass". The latter of which would be his final feature.
I'll never forget how significant Rickman was to Professor Snape and the other characters he played who were either villainous, depressed or sullen. Alan, wherever you are, we miss you.
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