Early life
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born 21 February 1946 in Acton, London. The son of Welsh housewife Margaret Doreen Rose and her factory worker and former Second World War aircraft fitter husband Bernard William Rickman, who was of Irish descent, Alan grew up with three siblings. After his father died of cancer when he was eight years old, his mother took a job at the Post Office to help keep the family supporter, but life was tough for the family.
A passion for the arts developed at school, as Alan enjoyed painting and calligraphy. He became involved with acting while attending the Latymer Upper School, but went to the Chelsea College of Art and Design followed by the Royal College of Art to continue pursuing that area of his interests in higher education. But after three years of working at a graphic design studio with friends, the future Hollywood star applied to RADA and began his pursuit of a dramatic career instead.
Career beginnings
After RADA came roles in several theatre productions, often experimental, including parts in The Seagull and The Grass Widow at the Royal Court Theatre. A breakout role as Jacques with the RSC in the Shakespeare play As You Like It followed, leading eventually to his on-screen breakthrough as the Reverend Obadiah Slope in BBC Two's The Barchester Chronicles in 1982.
Hollywood breakthrough
Alan's Hollywood moment came in 1988 following his stage success as the lead in Les Liaisons Dangergeuses in the West End and on Broadway. The actor, despite an initial reluctance to take the part, was cast as Die Hard's villain Hans Gruber and made waves for his role. Later success came frpm further villainous or darkly painted figures such as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and later as the fan favourite character Severus Snape in Warner Bros. Harry Potter adaptations.
However, the star also gained a reputation for excelling in romantic and comedic roles too, such as when he starred in Truly Madly Deeply alongside Juliet Stevenson in 1991. In 1995 he played Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility, and in 2002 he returned to the stage to act in Noel Coward's Private Lives. Other selected onscreen roles from his successful acting career include parts in Love Actually, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and A Little Chaos, which he also directed.
Personal life
Alan met his life partner Rima Horton when he was 19 years old. The pair got together in the 1970s, but only married in 2012 in a private ceremony held in New York.
In 2005, Alan underwent treatment for prostate cancer, which led to him receiving a prostatectomy in early 2006. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer ten years later following a minor stroke, and learnt soon after that this cancer was believed to be terminal.
Death
Alan Rickman died on 14 January 2016, aged 69. Having only told his closest friends and family about his terminal cancer diagnosis, his death shocked the world. The beloved actor was remembered remembered fondly by friends in the many tributes which were made following news of his death breaking. His final projects, Eye in the Sky and Alice Through the Looking Glass, were both also dedicated to his memory.
