British Actor Alan Rickman Has Died at 69

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Alan Rickman, the actor beloved by many for his portrayal of characters good and evil, but especially well known for playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, has died at age 69.

Rickman had been suffering from cancer, The Guardian reports, and his death was confirmed by a family member.

Known for his distinctive basso voice and a keen talent brought to every role, Rickman had early success as villains like Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Sheriff George of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and later as the title character in the HBO movie Rasputin, for which he won his only Golden Globe. He had a knack for the classics as well, both on stage (he won a Tony for his role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1987) and on screen (he played a memorable Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility).

In recent years, a new generation met Rickman in the Harry Potter series, as well as in the perennial holiday hit Love, Actually. He directed and starred as King Louis XIV in A Little Chaos last year and will still appear in two more movies: the drone warfare thriller Eye in the Sky, out March 11, and Alice Through the Looking Glass, out May 27, as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar.

[The Guardian]

Alan Rickman: A Career in Pictures

Die Hard, 1988.
Die Hard, 1988.20th Century Fox
Truly, Madly, Deeply, 1990.
Truly, Madly, Deeply, 1990.BBC Films
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1991.Warner Bros.
Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, 1996.
Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny, 1996.Getty Images
Dogma, 1999.
Dogma, 1999.Lionsgate
Galaxy Quest, 1999.
Galaxy Quest, 1999.DreamWorks Pictures
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 2001. Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Love Actually, 2003.
Love Actually, 2003.Universal Pictures
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007.DreamWorks Pictures
The Butler, 2013.
The Butler, 2013. The Weinstein Company

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