Alan Rickman Dies Aged 69

Legendary British actor Alan Rickman has died at the age of 69, the Guardian is reporting.

The star of ‘Die Hard’, ‘Harry Potter’, and ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ lost a battle with cancer on Thursday and died “surrounded by family and friends” a spokesperson for his family confirmed.

The RADA trained actor began his career on the stage and on television before getting his big film break memorably playing Hans Gruber in ‘Die Hard’.

- Alan Rickman’s Greatest Movie Roles
- Emma Thompson’s Heartbreaking Tribute
- Rickman: His Last Public Appearance

He won a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA in 1991 for his scene-stealing turn as the Sheriff of Nottingham in ‘Prince of Thieves’ and a handful of awards including a Golden Globes for the HBO TV movie ‘Rasputin’ in which he played the title role.

He’ll be best remembered to younger film fans as Professor Snape, arguably the character with the most interesting arc, across eight ‘Harry Potter’ films.

He completed work on two films that are yet to be released, the Helen Mirren drone warfare movie ‘Eye In The Sky’ which is being released in April, and he’ll appear as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ in May.

In 2014 Rickman released his second directorial movie ‘A Little Chaos’ starring Kate Winslet to critical acclaim.

Above: Rickman attending 'Hangmen’ play press night on 7 December. (Credit: Rex)

Rickman met his wife Rima Horton aged 19 in 1965 and they married in 2012 after being together for over 50 years.

- Alan Rickman’s Greatest Movie Roles
- Emma Thompson’s Heartbreaking Tribute
- Rickman: His Last Public Appearance

Image credits: Press Association/Rex/Warner Bros.