Alan Rickman

Alan Rickman was an English actor born in 1946 in Brentford, London, who built a career spanning stage and screen and became known for his resonant, distinctive voice. He trained initially as a graphic designer before turning to acting, and rose to international prominence playing the villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard in 1988. He later reached a new generation of audiences as Severus Snape across all eight Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011. Rickman received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award over his career, along with nominations for two Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award, and was widely regarded by critics as one of the finest actors never nominated for an Academy Award. He died of pancreatic cancer in January 2016 at the age of 69.