Culture

Tributes Flow For Actor, “Ultimate Ally” And “Rare And Unique Human” Alan Rickman, Dead At 69

Put your wands to the sky, people.

by Meg Watson  15 January 2016

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Confirming all suspicions that 2016 is a terrible, no-good tyre fire of a year with every day bringing more terrible news than the last, beloved actor Alan Rickman has died of cancer at 69. Just days after the world lost the iconic David Bowie to the same fate (at the same age), Rickman has passed away “surrounded by family and friends” in London.

Rickman grew up in a working class family and he and his three siblings were raised by their single mother after his father died when he was young. He remained with his partner (eventual Labor Party councillor) Rima Horton from the age of 18 and the pair secretly married just a couple of years ago. They never had any children upon Horton’s wishes, and Rickman often spoke about respecting that decision. With a career spanning three decades, Rickman was one of the world’s most beloved actors. Though beginning his work in theatre with a love of Shakespeare and stage credits from the Royal Shakespeare Company, it was his iconic film roles that would later endear him to mainstream audiences.

Most notably, he became known as terrorist Hans Gruber in 1988’s Die Hard:

Colonel Brandon in 1995’s Sense and Sensibility:

And Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films:

Then there was this literal monster from Love Actually, who we must not speak of right now:

With the news of his death breaking last night, countless friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry have mourned his loss with messages of love posted on social media and given to the media.

Writing for Newsweek, Rickman’s long-time friend and occasional on-screen partner Emma Thompson said she would remember him for his “humour, intelligence, wisdom, kindness, and his capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word.” “Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye … [I’ll remember] the intransigence which made him the great artist he was — his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him.

“He was the ultimate ally. In life, art and politics. I trusted him absolutely. He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again.”

Similarly, Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe has written a lengthy ode to Rickman commending him for his incredible kindness over the years and calling him “one of the greatest actors I will ever work with”. “People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner (or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny … Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Kate Winslet who worked with Rickman on Sense and Sensibility when she was just 19. “I remember being so intimidated by him when we worked together, because he had such a powerful and commanding presence,” she said. “And that voice! Oh, that voice… But the reality of course, was that he was the kindest and best of men. Had the patience of a saint. He was a warm hearted puppy dog, who would do anything for anyone if it made them happy.”

These messages of love are flowing in from all directions:

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There has of course also been an outpouring of grief from his fans which is too large to quantify. As many feel most connected to him through his complex yet beloved character of Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, this feels like fitting tribute:

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