Sep 13, 20202 min read

Mix Up Star: ALAN RICKMAN

Updated: Mar 28, 2021

Born: 21st February 1946

Died: 14th January 2016 (Age 69)

Alan Rickman was an English actor and director. Known for his languid tone and delivery, Rickman's signature sound was the result of a speech impediment when he could not move his lower jaw properly as a child. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), performing in modern and classical theatre productions. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and after the production transferred to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987 he was nominated for a Tony Award.

Rickman appeared as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), for which he received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply (1990); Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995); Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest (1999); Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series and Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005).

Rickman made his television acting debut playing Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (1978) as part of the BBC's Shakespeare series. His breakthrough role was in the BBC television adaptation of The Barchester Chronicles (1982). He later starred in television films, playing the title character in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), which won him a Golden Globe Award, an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016 at age 69. His final film role was reprising his role as the voice of the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland (2010) in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).