Who Is That: Alan Rickman

Name: Alan Rickman
Occupation: Actor
Genre: Film
Born: February 21, 1946

This tremendously talented actor has not only continually won critical acclaim for decades (including BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG Awards), but also continually wins over audiences the world over with his unique style and outstanding versatility in films ranging from Die Hard to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Rickman is set to star in the final Potter films as well as in Tim Burton's highly anticipated take on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland!

With a background in Shakespeare studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, as well as a dresser for the likes of Sir Nigel Hawthorne and Sir Ralph Richardson, Rickman soon launched his own acting career with rave reviews and prizes right out of the gate. He appeared in the stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in London as well as in New York where he received Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations.

A few years later he was cast in his first major film role as Hans Gruber in the smash hit film Die Hard. Shortly thereafter he was cast in another box office smash as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for which he won the BAFTA Award.

His career since has spanned the entire gambit of film genres with movies and characters all over the map! The major highlights of his career include Sense and Sensibility, Rasputin (for which he won the Emmy and Golden Globe), Dogma, Galaxy Quest, The Search for John Gissing, Love Actually, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and of course as Severus Snape in the groundbreaking success of a saga known as the Harry Potter films.

Rickman returned to the stage in 2002 in the play Private Lives for which he once again was nominated for Drama Desk and Tony Awards. He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" (#34) in 1995, ranked number 59 in Empire's "Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in October 1997, and was voted number 19 in Empire's "Greatest Living Movie Stars Over the Age of 50".

He became Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003.

Rickman's dedication and joy toward his work are ever-present, and we the audience continue to reap the benefits with his wonderful performances.

"I do take my work seriously and the way to do that is not to take yourself too seriously." Please do continue to work, Mr. Rickman. Your work is our ongoing pleasure.

Below is a clip from Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd in which Rickman and Johnny Depp perform Stephen Sondheim's beautiful piece "Pretty Women".