Tarihin Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman was undoubtedly one of those remarkable actors who left a permanent mark on our hearts and minds. He mesmerised us with so many great performances, making us extremely happy, proud, cringed, horrified and Sad at different times.

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016), born on 21 February 1946 in the Acton district of London, was a Legendary English actor and director, Known for his distinctive style of acting, deep low voice, and dark piercing eyes which seems to be gazing into your soul. 

Rickman attended "Chelsea College of Art and Design" from 1965 to 1968 and the "Royal College of Art" from 1968 to 1970. He was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), which he attended from 1972 until 1974.

After completing his studies at Rada, he initially worked as a dresser for notable figures like Nigel Hawthorne and Ralph Richardson. His journey led him to the Royal Shakespeare Company and TV roles like the slithery "Reverend Slope" in "The Barchester Chronicles".

Rickman portrayed "Obadiah Slope" in the BBC adaptation of "The Barchester Chronicles" (1982) to great acclaim. But his breakthrough came in 1986 as Valmont, the mordant seducer in Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He was nominated for a Tony for the part, Lindsay Duncan memorably said of her co-star’s sonorous performance that audiences would leave the theatre wanting to have sex “and preferably with Alan Rickman”.

Rickman's notable stage performances included portraying Mark Antony alongside Helen Mirren's Cleopatra at the Olivier Theatre in London. In 2010, he took on the title role in Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, with Lindsay Duncan, and the production later transferred to New York. In 2011, he played a creative writing professor in Seminar on Broadway.

Rickman became a big-screen mainstay after gaining global recognition in 1988, portraying the sardonic and villainous Hans Gruber in Die Hard, a role he secured just two days after arriving in Los Angeles at the age of 41.

Gruber marked the beginning of Rickman's trilogy of memorable antagonists, followed by his outrageous portrayal of the sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) for which won the 'BAFTA Award for Best Actor' in a Supporting Role and the chilling Rasputin in a well-received 1995 HBO film.

Beyond his villainous roles, Rickman showcased his versatility as a leading man. In 1991, he starred alongside Juliet Stevenson in Anthony Minghella's emotionally resonant supernatural romance "Truly, Madly, Deeply"(1991). Four years later, he portrayed the honourable and modest Col Brandon in "Sense and Sensibility"(1995), a film directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma Thompson followed by "An Awfully Big Adventure" (1995), "Michael Collins"(1996) and "The Winter Guest" (1997).

In 1995, Rickman made his directorial debut with the acclaimed Scottish drama, The Winter Guest, featuring Emma Thompson and her mother, Phyllida Law. Rickman and Thompson continued to collaborate, sharing the screen in Love, Actually (2003) and former lovers in the 2010 BBC drama The Song of Lunch.

However, it was his portrayal of 'Severus Snape' in the "Harry Potter series"(2001–2011) that truly endeared him to audiences worldwide. Rickman's nuanced performance as Snape—a complex character with hidden depths— completes his story arc from young Harry’s bullying teacher to an unexpectedly heroic ally.

His other notable performances are in films like Dogma (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999), Love Actually (2003), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Eye in the Sky (2015).

Rickman brought together another Sense and Sensibility co-star, Kate Winslet, in his directorial venture "A Little Chaos"(2014), a period romance.

Alan Rickman garnered a multitude of prestigious awards throughout his illustrious career, including a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. His impressive achievements also led to nominations for two Drama Desk Awards, a Drama League Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and two Tony Awards.

Alan Rickman was actively engaged in politics and charity work throughout his life. He identified as a devoted member of the Labour Party and dedicated himself to various charitable causes, including Saving Faces and the International Performers' Aid Trust, which aimed to support artists in developing and impoverished nations.

Alan Rickman and his wife, Rima Horton, first met as teenagers and maintained a relationship for many years. Horton pursued a career as an economics lecturer and also served as a Labour Party councillor. The couple, together since 1965, eventually got married in 2012. Rickman passed away from pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016 at the age of 69. 

Daniel Radcliffe, reflecting on his experience working with Alan Rickman, wrote

 "one of the greatest actors I will ever work with" and “one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry”

JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, expressed deep shock and devastation at his demise, wrote “There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman’s death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man”

Michael Gambon, who portrayed Dumbledore, said: “Everybody loved Alan. He was always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny.”