Alan Rickman, a legend of the stage and screen, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 69 years old.
His family confirmed his death to the BBC, but did not reveal any further information.
Rickman was a beloved actor thanks to his roles as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and as the villainous Hans Gruber in Die Hard. But Rickman’s incredible career was much more than those two roles.
The actor was classically trained and performed on the stage in London and on Broadway. He earned a Tony nomination in 1987 for Dangerous Liaisons and another one in 2002 for Private Lives.
After Die Hard shot him to fame, he starred in Sense and Sensibility, Dogma, Galaxy Quest and Love Actually. In 2001, his skills reached a new audience when he debuted as Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Although his work somehow went unrecognized by the Academy Awards, he earned several others during his career. He won an Emmy and Golden Globe for the 1996 TV movie Rasputin. In 1992, he received a BAFTA Film Award for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He also earned another Emmy nomination for Something The Lord Made in 2004.
Rickman’s singular voice will be heard in the upcoming Disney film Alce Through The Looking Glass, in which he voices the Blue Caterpillar.