Alan Rickman was truly a legend. Rickman, born February 21, 1946, recently died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 69 on January 14, 2016. A British actor with an acting career spanning 30 years, he has delivered phenomenal performances both onstage and onscreen. Our generation knows him most for his role as Snape in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Of course, he had a wide variety of other roles. His most notable roles are villains, but he also took on the role of ordinary men. Rickman has acted in romance, humour, and musical genres as well. Some of his lesser-known roles are in the films, Romeo and Juliet, Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of ThievesSense and Sensibility,Love Actually, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Nobel Son, and many more, including his recurring voice as Absolem the Caterpillar in the upcoming Alice Through the Looking Glass film, the sequel to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. In 2001, he appeared as Severus Snape in the first movie of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He continued in this role until the eighth movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Though many Harry Potter fans disliked Snape at one point, the actor behind the villain portrayed this essential character perfectly, bringing Rowling’s series to life. Throughout the series, Snape evolved from a strict professor to a secret hero, playing his role with great energy and emotion. Contrary to the antihero he often portrayed in movies and plays, Rickman was a “kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny” man, according to actor and colleague, Daniel Radcliffe. “Undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also one of the loyalest and most supportive people I’ve ever met in the film industry”. Actress and model Bonnie Wright wrote on Twitter, “The energy shifted every time you walked onto set. You were an inspiration to us all.” As Rickman himself said, “acting touches nerves you absolutely have no control over.” It can be agreed that Rickman’s incredible acting skills has touched many of us and his memory will be re-lived every time someone watches him in his films.
Justyna Korczynski, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of alanrickman.info
