It is with great sadness that we bring you the heartbreaking news of Alan Rickman’s passing at the age of 69 after battling cancer for the past 12 months.
He was one of Britain’s most loved actors, but also one of mine. Rickman was known for playing the villain. He didn’t have the looks of a hero, but could knock a villainous role out of the ball park. He had of way of stealing the spotlight and defining what it was to be an actor. He was charismatic, yet laid back. He was never over the top, unless the role required it, and believable in everything he played.
It’s hard to forget his role as Hans Gruber in the original Die Hard film; he brought a charm to that character that has hardly been matched in a villainous role since. You loved to hate him, and even though he killed Takagi in cold blood and led a terrorist attack against the people of the Nakatomi Plaza, part of you wanted him to win the day.
Alan Rickman was wildly popular throughout the last three decades. He prayed on Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood as the Sheriff of Nottingham, he cheated on Emma Thompson in Love Actually, and he helped save the Universe in Galaxy Quest. Later in his career, Rickman gained a new generation of fans playing professor Snape in the Harry Potter film series.
It’s hard to lose such a great actor, especially when for a fan it’s so sudden. So if you’re a fan or have never seen his work, make sure you spend today curled up on the couch with some of his classics like Die Hard or Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He will be missed
ALAN RICKMAN 1947 – 2016
I’ll leave you with one of favourite scenes from Die Hard, where Hans Gruber (Rickman) meets John McClane (Willis) I love that here Rickman manages not only to act as Hans, but then without skipping a beat, transforms into the cowardly Bill.