Alan Rickman
British actor and director (1946-2016) · United Kingdom · Actors · Died at 69
Alan Rickman is read about 8,329 times a day, in 84 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 396 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?That voice - velvet over gravel, irony coiled in every syllable - made him the screen's most magnetic villain and its most unexpectedly tender romantic. Alan Rickman turned Die Hard's Hans Gruber into a genre benchmark, then spent two decades proving range most character actors never touch.
A life in dates
Alice Through the Looking GlassFilm, 2016Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)2013
A PromiseFilm, Karl Hoffmeister2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2Film, Severus Snape2010
Alice in WonderlandFilm, Absolem / Caterpillar (voice)2009James Joyce AwardsAward2008“Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.”In their words4 December 2008by Aaron Hillis, IFC.com, 4 December 2008
Bottle ShockFilm, 2008Steven Spurrier2006“I realise as soon as that [ Snape's] ring and costume go on - something happens. It becomes alien to be chatty, smiley, open.”In their words12 April 2006Entry (12 April 2006) in Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman (2022)
Perfume: The Story of a MurdererFilm, 2006Richis2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanFilm, Severus Snape2003
Love ActuallyFilm, Harry2001
Blow DryFilm, Phil Allen1999
The DirectorsSeries1998
Judas KissFilm, Detective David Friedman1997Golden Globe AwardsAwardScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieAward, 19971996Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a MovieAward1995
An Awfully Big AdventureFilm, P.L. O'Hara1993“Meanwhile the dreaded press and even in the unit publicist the unstoppable desire to compare one job with another - was X more difficult than Y? No, X=X and Y=Y. Don't be lazy.”In their words23 September 1993Entry (23 September 1993) in Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman (2022)
Fallen AngelsSeries, 1993Dwight Billings1992BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleAward
Bob RobertsFilm, 1992Lukas Hart III1990
Quigley Down UnderFilm, Elliott Marston1988
Die HardFilm, Hans Gruber1986
ScreenPlaySeries, Israel Yates1985
Girls On TopSeries, Dimitri / Voice of RADA(voice)1980
Therese RaquinSeries, Vidal1979
ShelleySeries1978
The BBC Television ShakespeareSeries, Tybalt1956
Tony AwardsSeries1946Born21 February 1946Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
Rickman studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London from 1972 to 1974. He was elected to the RADA council in 1993, where he was also vice-chairman, a role he held until his death in 2016.
My Name Is Rachel Corrie - a play co-written and directed by Rickman - playing at the Playhouse Theatre, London, March 2006
Rickman at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
Rickman at the John Golden Theatre in 2011
Rickman and Kate Winslet at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
Rickman posing for a fan after a performance of John Gabriel Borkman in 2011
Rickman at a Hudson Union Society event in 2009In their own words 3
, Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.
I realise as soon as that [ Snape's] ring and costume go on - something happens. It becomes alien to be chatty, smiley, open.
Meanwhile the dreaded press and even in the unit publicist the unstoppable desire to compare one job with another - was X more difficult than Y? No, X=X and Y=Y. Don't be lazy.
Listen
SpotifyFilmography 40
AGAlice Through the Looking Glass
ESEye in the Sky
ACA Little Chaos
TBThe Butler
CBCBGBAPA Promise
GAGambitHPHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
HPHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1AWAlice in Wonderland
HPHarry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceBSBottle Shock
HPHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
SSSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
NSNobel SonPMPerfume: The Story of a Murderer
SCSnow Cake
HFHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
TGThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyHAHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
SMSomething the Lord MadeLALove Actually
HSHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
HSHarry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneBDBlow Dry
DODogma
GQGalaxy QuestJKJudas Kiss
MCMichael Collins
DVDie Hard: With a Vengeance
SSSense and Sensibility
LCLumière & CompanyAAAn Awfully Big AdventureBRBob Roberts
RTRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves
TDTruly Madly Deeply
CEClose My EyesQUQuigley Down Under
TMThe January ManDHDie Hard102 credits on file
Television 15
TUThe Movies That Made UsTDThe Directors
KHKing of the Hill
LBLate Night with Conan O'BrienFAFallen AngelsSCScreenPlayGTGirls On Top
SPSmiley's People
TCThe Barchester ChroniclesTRTherese RaquinSHShelleyTSThe BBC Television Shakespeare
TGThe Hollywood GreatsTATony Awards
GAGolden Globe AwardsAwards
In their orbit
Spouse: Rima HortonAbout this person
Born 21 February 1946, Rickman trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and built his reputation with the Royal Shakespeare Company before his Tony-nominated turn as Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses opened the door to film. Die Hard in 1988 made him a cinematic villain for the ages; Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves won him a BAFTA three years later. He moved between blockbuster (eight Harry Potter films as Severus Snape, starting in 2001) and smaller, sharper work - Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense and Sensibility, Galaxy Quest - always calibrating tone with surgical care. His Rasputin for HBO in 1996 swept the Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG awards. He directed twice, acted until the end, and died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016, at sixty-nine, never Oscar-nominated but never forgotten.
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