Name: Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman
DOB: February 21, 1946
Where: Hammersmith, London, England
Occupation: Actor(stage and screen)
Years Active: 1978-present
Partner: Rima Horton(1965-present)
-Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company
-Best known for his roles as German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Severus Snape in Harry Potter, Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and Metatron in Dogma.
-Also has appeared in other movies, such as playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Jamie in Truly Madly Deeply, Colonel Brandon in Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility. And most recently, he played Judge Turpin in the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Early Life
-Son of Margaret Doreen Rose, a housewife and Bernard Rickman, a factory worker. His mother was from Wales, a Methodist and his father an Irish Catholic.
-Has one older brother, David, a graphic designer, a younger brother, Michael, a tennis coach, and a younger sister, Sheila.
-When he was 8, his father died, leaving his mother to raise 4 children all alone.
-He excelled at calligraphy and watercolor painting. Later attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design and then the Royal College of Art. This allowed him to work as a graphic designer. After he graduated, him and several friends opened a graphic design studio called Graphiti. But closed it after 3 years
Career
-In 1982, British TV came to know Rickman as Reverend Obadiah Slope in the TV adaptation of Barchester Towers.
-Over the years, he has appeared in various films and plays, playing romantic leads such as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, Jamie in Truly Madly, Deeply, villains such as German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard, The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and most recently, Potions professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series of films.
Harry Potter, Severus Snape
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Sheriff of Nottingham
Love Actually, Harry
Die Hard, Hans Gruber
-He has also tried his hand at comedic roles, such as the angel Metatron in the movie Dogma, playing Emma Thompson's fool husband Harry in Love Actually(which is my favorite love movie)
-In 2007, he received alot of attention with his portrayal of Judge Turpin in the movie adaptation of the musical play Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. And also he provided his voice for the character Absolem the Caterpillar in the 2010 Burton-directed Alice in Wonderland.
-In 2011, he reappeared as Severus Snape in the final movie: Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows- Part 2.
Personal Life
-In 1965, at age 19, he met his partner Rima Horton, who was a part of the London Borough Council. They started living together in 1977.
Filmography
IMDb
-In the scene in Die Hard where Hans is supposed to have dropped from the top of the Nakatomi building, he was actually dropped by a stuntman from a 20 foot high model of the building onto an air bag. And the look of surprise on his face is real; instead of going on 3, Rickman was dropped on the count of 2.
-In the 1994 movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, Rickman was the original choice to play the role that Hugh Grant was supposed to play. He was producer Richard Curtis' ideal choice for this movie.
-Failed his California driving test at one point for driving too cautiously through a green light
-Attended the funeral for actress Natasha Richardson.
-In the Harry Potter movies, he is 11 years older than Timothy Spall, who plays Peter Pettigrew, 17 years older than David Thewlis, who plays Professor Remus Lupin
