While the movie world celebrated the finest in the year’s achievements with the Oscar nominations unveiled this morning, underpinning it all was a sense of sadness as acclaimed and beloved British actor Alan Rickman has passed away at the age of 69.
The actor first earned attention for his work on the stage, breaking out with this Tony-nominated turn as Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses." Hollywood followed, and two years later, Rickman took the role of a lifetime as Hans Gruber in "Die Hard," crafting one of the big screen’s all time best villains. Roles in "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves" and "Rasputin" also brought him attention, but Rickman reached a new generation of fans thanks to his performance as Professor Snape in the "Harry Potter" franchise.
But it’s really the range of his roles that truly made Rickman stand out. His performances in "Michael Collins," "Truly Madly Deeply," "Love Actually," "Sense And Sensibility," "The Song Of Lunch," and more highlighted his wide variety of talents, which went far beyond the front of the camera. Behind it, he wrote and directed two feature films, "The Winter Guest" and "A Little Chaos." And his shelf of trophies includes honors from the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and the Emmys, but he was disappointingly never given an Oscar nod.
Rickman was one of the most respected actors in his field, and he will be greatly missed. Check out a selection of interviews with the actor below.
