Alan Rickman

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born on February 21, 1946) is a British stage and screen actor.

Biography

Born in Hammersmith, London to a working-class family; his father was Irish Catholic and his mother was Welsh and a Methodist; there was consequently a religious tug-of-war between his parents. His father died when he was 8 years old, and his mother raised him afterwards.

Related Topics:
Hammersmith - London - Irish - Catholic - Welsh - Methodist

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Rickman was a graphic designer before entering the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in the early 1970s. Since then, he has been a constant presence on the British stage. He made a particular impression as the male lead in the 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and became known to television audiences as Mr. Slope in the BBC's 1980s adaptation of Barchester Towers.

Related Topics:
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - 1970s - 1985 - Royal Shakespeare Company - Les Liaisons Dangereuses - BBC - 1980s - Barchester Towers

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He mostly plays period roles in British movies, whilst on the Hollywood screen he is generally typecast as the over-the-top villain. His campy performance as the snarling German terrorist Hans Gruber in 1988's all-action blockbuster Die Hard best illustrates the latter, and his gentle portrayal of Colonel Brandon in the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility is the best example of the former. He has also shown himself as a subtle comedy actor in films such as Galaxy Quest, Dogma and Love Actually. In recent years he has come to the attention of a younger audience through his appearances as the sneering Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. More recently, Rickman has been cast as Marvin's voice in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. Coincidentally, Rickman and David Learner, who occupied Marvin's costume for the TV adaptation and stage shows, were at RADA together. In recent Hollywood movies where his character is not particularly villainous, he is still often cast as quiet and stoic yet depressed and rather unpleasant, as in Hitchhiker's Guide, the Harry Potter movies, and the successful sci-fi parody Galaxy Quest.

Related Topics:
Hollywood - Villain - 1988 - Die Hard - 1995 - Sense and Sensibility - Comedy - Galaxy Quest - Dogma - Love Actually - Severus Snape - Harry Potter - Marvin - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - David Learner - Sci-fi - Parody

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Musically, Rickman has been immortalised in a song composed by English songwriter Adam Leonard. He also "narrated" the song Bell on the album Tubular Bells II. Although he has never married, he has been romantically linked to Rima Horton since their days at the Chelsea College of Art. Rima Horton is a politician affiliated with the Labour Party.

Related Topics:
Adam Leonard - Tubular Bells II - Labour Party

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Filmography (partial)

• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2005), as Antoine
• Snow Cake (2005), as Alex
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (film) (2005) as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android
• Something the Lord Made (2004), as Dr. Alfred Blalock
• Love Actually (2003), as Harry
• Harry Potter series, as Professor Severus Snape
• Blow Dry (2001), as Phil Allen
• Galaxy Quest (1999), as Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus
• Dogma (1999), as Metatron
• Dark Harbor (1998), as David Weinberg
• Judas Kiss (1998), as Detective David Friedman
• The Winter Guest (1997) (director) (uncredited), Man in street
• Michael Collins (1996), as Eamon de Valera
• Rasputin (1996), as Grigori Rasputin
• Sense and Sensibility (1995), as Colonel Brandon
• An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) as P.L. O'Hara
• Mesmer (1994), as Franz Mesmer
• Close My Eyes (1991) as Sinclair Bryant
• ' (1991), as the Sheriff of Nottingham
• Truly Madly Deeply (1991) as Jaime
• Quigley Down Under (1990), as Elliot Marston, an unscrupulous ranch owner
• January Man (1989), as Ed, the painter.
• Die Hard (1988), as Hans Gruber.