Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

These actors totally transform for their roles. See them in some of their most memorable moments.

The Greatest Character Actors of All Time

Celebrate some of the most iconic Asian actors from film and television, from [link=/name/nm1231899/]Priyanka Chopra Jonas[/link] to [link=/name/nm0702841]Ke Huy Quan[/link], plus many more.

Asian Icons of Film and Television

Celebrate some of the most iconic Asian actors from film and television, from <a class="ipc-md-link" href="/name/nm1231899/?ref_=nmmi_eds_right-7_lk">Priyanka Chopra Jonas</a> to <a class="ipc-md-link" href="/name/nm0702841?ref_=nmmi_eds_right-7_lk">Ke Huy Quan</a>, plus many more.

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Jeremy Northam, Alan Rickman, Monica Dolan, Richard McCabe, and Francis Chouler in Eye in the Sky (2015)

Alan Rickman and Monica Dolan in Eye in the Sky (2015)

Alan Rickman, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Jack Black, and Lindsay Lohan in "The IMDb Show" On Location Goes Back to School (2019)

Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia in Die Hard (1988)

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Alan Rickman, Richard Harris, Ian Hart, Leslie Phillips, Daniel Radcliffe, and Zoë Wanamaker in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Alan Rickman in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

Alan Rickman, Anthony Andrews, and Patrick Ryecart in Romeo & Juliet (1978)

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Alan Rickman and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Alan Rickman, Warwick Davis, and Martin Freeman in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Alan Rickman, Warwick Davis, Sam Rockwell, Yasiin Bey, and Martin Freeman in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Alan Rickman, Warwick Davis, Sam Rockwell, Yasiin Bey, and Zooey Deschanel in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Alan Rickman and Warwick Davis in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Alan Rickman, Warwick Davis, and Zooey Deschanel in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Alan Rickman, Warwick Davis, Yasiin Bey, Peter Burroughs, Martin Freeman, and Garth Jennings in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tim Allen, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Missi Pyle, and Jed Rees in Galaxy Quest (1999)

Alan Rickman and Mia Wasikowska in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)

Alan Rickman in The Barchester Chronicles (1982)

Jeremy Northam, Alan Rickman, and Francis Chouler in Eye in the Sky (2015)

Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Alan Rickman and Ashley Greene in CBGB (2013)

Alan Rickman, Darin Heames, and Ryan Hurst in CBGB (2013)

Alan Rickman and Freddy Rodríguez in CBGB (2013)

Alan Rickman and Geraldine McEwan in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Alan Rickman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Alan Rickman and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Alan Rickman, Ralph Ineson, and Suzanne Toase in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

Alan Rickman was born on a council estate in Acton, West London, to Margaret Doreen Rose (Bartlett), of English and Welsh descent, and Bernard Rickman, of Irish descent, who worked at a factory. Alan Rickman had an older brother (David), a younger brother (Michael), and a younger sister (Sheila). When Alan was 8 years old, his father died. He attended Latymer Upper School on a scholarship. He studied Graphic Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design, where he met Rima Horton, who would later become his longtime partner.

After three years at Chelsea College, Rickman did graduate studies at the Royal College of Art. He opened a successful graphic design business, Graphiti, with friends and managed it for several years before his love of theatre led him to seek an audition with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). At the relatively late age of 26, Rickman received a scholarship to RADA, which started a professional acting career that has lasted nearly 40 years, a career which has spanned stage, screen and television, and overlapped into directing, as well. In 1987, he first came to the attention of American audiences as the Vicomte de Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" on Broadway (he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the role). Denied the role in the film version of the show, Rickman instead made his first film appearance opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988) as the villainous Hans Gruber. His take on the urbane villain set the standard for screen villains for decades to come.

Although often cited as being a master of playing villains, Rickman actually played a wide variety of characters, such as the romantic cello-playing ghost Jamie in Anthony Minghella's Truly Madly Deeply (1990) and the noble Colonel Brandon of Sense and Sensibility (1995). He treated audiences to his comedic abilities in such films as Dogma (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and roles like Dr. Alfred Blalock in Something the Lord Made (2004), and as Alex Hughes in Snow Cake (2006), showcased his ability to play ordinary men in extraordinary situations. Rickman even conquered the daunting task of singing a role in a Stephen Sondheim musical as he took on the role of Judge Turpin in the movie adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). In 2001, Rickman introduced himself to a whole new, younger generation of fans by taking on the role of Severus Snape in the film versions of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). He continued to play the role through the eighth and last movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Alan Rickman died of pancreatic cancer on 14 January 2016. He was 69 years old.

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Alan Rickman

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