{"id":68944,"date":"2016-01-14T20:34:43","date_gmt":"2016-01-15T01:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=68944"},"modified":"2016-01-14T20:34:43","modified_gmt":"2016-01-15T01:34:43","slug":"alan-rickman-star-of-stage-and-harry-potter-dies-at-69","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2016\/01\/14\/alan-rickman-star-of-stage-and-harry-potter-dies-at-69\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Rickman, star of stage and ‘Harry Potter,’ dies at 69"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"British<\/a>
British actor Alan Rickman
(Photo courtesy of Marie-Lan Nguyen<\/a> \/ Wikipedia<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LONDON\u2014British actor Alan Rickman, a classically trained stage star and sensual screen villain in the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d saga and other films, has died. He was 69.<\/p>\n

Rickman’s family said that the actor died early Thursday in London after a battle with cancer.<\/p>\n

Daniel Radcliffe, who played opposite Rickman in eight \u201cHarry Potter\u201d films, said Rickman was \u201cundoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born to a working-class London family in 1946 and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rickman was often cast as the bad guy; with his rich, languid voice he could invest evil with wicked, irresistible relish.<\/p>\n

His breakout role was as scheming French aristocrat the Vicomte de Valmont in an acclaimed 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Christopher Hampton’s \u201cLes Liaisons Dangereuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Film roles included Hans Gruber, the psychopathic villain who tormented Bruce Willis in \u201cDie Hard\u201d in 1988; a deceased lover who consoles his bereaved partner in 1990’s \u201cTruly Madly Deeply\u201d; the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham in \u201cRobin Hood: Prince of Thieves\u201d in 1991; and a wayward husband in 2003 romantic comedy \u201cLove Actually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Millions know him from the Potter films, in which he played Hogwarts teacher Severus Snape, who was either a nemesis or an ally\u2014possibly both\u2014to the titular teenage wizard.<\/p>\n

Radcliffe, who played Harry, said Rickman \u201cwas one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling tweeted that \u201cthere are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman’s death. He was a magnificent actor (and) a wonderful man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma Thompson, who starred alongside Rickman in films including \u201cSense and Sensibility\u201d and \u201cLove Actually,\u201d praised Rickman’s \u201chumour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness\u201d and called him \u201cthe finest of actors and directors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do with his face next,\u201d she told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

Mohammed Saghir, the present-day Sheriff of Nottingham\u2014now a ceremonial role in the English Midlands city\u2014paid tribute to Rickman’s version of Robin Hood’s famous foe.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis sheriff was a gloriously nasty character who it was easy to love to hate and who he appeared to have great fun playing,\u201d Saghir said.<\/p>\n

Rickman’s villains were memorable, and included an Emmy-winning turn as \u201cmad monk\u201d Rasputin in a 1996 TV biopic.<\/p>\n

But Rickman’s screen roles were remarkably varied, and included the upright Col. Brandon in Ang Lee’s 1995 film version of \u201cSense and Sensibility\u201d and Irish politician Eamon de Valera in 1996 historical drama \u201cMichael Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had a sideline in comic sci-fi, bringing knowingness and fun to the spoof \u201cGalaxy Quest\u201d in 1999 and delivering existential ennui as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in \u201cThe Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy\u201d in 2005.<\/p>\n

He appeared frequently onstage, earning Tony Award nominations for \u201cLes Liaisons Dangereuses\u201d in 1987 and Noel Coward’s \u201cPrivate Lives\u201d in 2002.<\/p>\n

\u201cI so wish he’d played King Lear and a few other classical challenges but that’s to be greedy,\u201d actor Ian McKellen wrote on Facebook. \u201cHe leaves a multitude of fans and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rickman was also a filmmaker, directing and co-starring opposite Kate Winslet in 2014 costume drama \u201cA Little Chaos.\u201d Seventeen years earlier, he’d directed Emma Thompson and her mother Phyllida Law in \u201cThe Winter Guest.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2005, he directed \u201cMy Name is Rachel Corrie,\u201d a play based on the diaries of an American pro-Palestinian activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Sigourney Weaver, who starred with Rickman in \u201cGalaxy Quest\u201d and the 2006 film \u201cSnow Cake,\u201d said the project was an example of the way Rickman \u201cused his talent always to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frequently charming in person, Rickman was, by his own account, uncompromising as an actor. During the filming of \u201cHarry Potter,\u201d he maintained Snape’s air of haughty disdain even off-camera.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe animal in me takes over,\u201d Rickman told The Associated Press in 2011 when he appeared on Broadway in Theresa Rebeck’s play \u201cSeminar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re as polite as possible, but it’s not always possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rickman is due to appear in two yet-to-be-released films: \u201cEye in the Sky,\u201d with Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul; and the animated \u201cAlice Through the Looking Glass,\u201d in which he voices the Blue Caterpillar.<\/p>\n

Rickman is survived by his partner of 50 years, Rima Horton, whom he married in 2012. Funeral details weren’t immediately available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LONDON\u2014British actor Alan Rickman, a classically trained stage star and sensual screen villain in the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d saga and other …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":68945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-68944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-original","mauthors-jill-lawless","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}