Continuing this week of utterly dreadful news, word is emerging from Britain that the hugely beloved actor Alan Rickman has sadly passed away. He was 69.
Representatives for Rickman’s family confirmed the actor’s death. He had apparently been suffering from cancer.
Rickman is, of course, most widely known for providing two of cinemas most iconic villains in Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films, as well as the calculating Hans Gruber from the original Die Hard.
His brooding persona and dry, deep cadence leant itself extremely well to filmic villainy, and his stamp on films such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and the 1995 HBO film Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny looms large.
But Rickman’s long career in film wasn’t merely confined to the dark side of character acting, and his turns in Sense and Sensibility, Dogma, Galaxy Quest, and Love Actually (to cherry-pick but a few from a nearly 40-year career) stand as testament to his abilities. His large and varied body of work also took in many turns in the theatre – where he originally gained his chops with the Royal Shakespeare Company – where his work earned great acclaim.
His (now) final film role sees him provide the voice of Absolem the Caterpillar in the upcoming Tim Burton-produced Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Alan Rickman is survived by his near-life long partner and wife Rima Horton.
So long, Mr. Rickman. And thank you for everything.
Professor Snape has left the building.
Photo: Desiree Navarro/Getty Images.
Source: The Guardian.
