Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born on the 21st of February 1946 in Brentford, London. He grew up in Acton, a district to the west of Wormwood Scrubs Prison. His father worked as a factory worker and house painter before dying of cancer when Alan was eight years old. This loss left his mother Margaret to raise him and three siblings alone on a Post Office salary. The family moved into council housing where she struggled to provide for four children. Rickman himself had been born with a tight jaw that contributed to the deep tone of voice he would later become famous for. A vocal coach once told him he possessed what he called a spastic soft palate. This physical trait shaped the languid delivery that became his calling card across decades of stage and screen work.
Rickman studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design from 1965 until 1968. He then attended the Royal College of Art from 1968 to 1970. During this period he trained as a graphic designer and worked for the college magazine ARK and the Notting Hill Herald. These jobs offered stability compared to acting which he considered an unstable career path at age eighteen. After graduation he opened a design studio called Graphiti with friends. Three years of successful business followed before he decided to pursue acting professionally. He wrote to request an audition with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He attended RADA from 1972 until 1974 while supporting himself by working as a dresser for actors Nigel Hawthorne and Ralph Richardson. His training allowed him to transition from visual arts into performance.
After graduating from RADA Rickman worked extensively with British repertory groups. He performed Chekhov's The Seagull and Snoo Wilson's The Grass Widow at the Royal Court Theatre. He appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival between 1978 and 1981. In 1982 he played Reverend Obadiah Slope in the BBC adaptation of The Barchester Chronicles. This role served as his breakthrough on television. He was given the male lead Vicomte de Valmont in the 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Howard Davies directed this transfer to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987. Rickman received both a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award nomination for his performance. Critics noted his ability to portray villainous roles effectively during this decade.
Rickman made his film debut as Hans Gruber in Die Hard released in 1988. He starred opposite Bruce Willis in this action thriller. His portrayal earned him critical acclaim and a spot on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains list as the 46th best villain in film history. He later revealed that he almost did not take the role because he doubted the kind of film it was. In 1991 he played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves alongside Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. Entertainment Weekly called his gleefully wicked villain the summer's most talked about performance. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for this work. Despite gaining acclaim for villains he took issue with being typecast. He soon started playing leading roles such as Jamie in Truly Madly Deeply which proved to be a critical success.
Rickman directed The Winter Guest at London's Almeida Theatre in 1995. The film version released in 1997 starred Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law. In early 2005 My Name Is Rachel Corrie premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London. This play composed from journals and emails by journalist Katharine Viner was also directed by Rickman. The West End production saw him win the Theatregoers' Choice Awards for Best Director. The show faced controversy when producers withdrew it from New York due to fears of protests. Rickman called the decision censorship born out of fear. Harold Pinter and Vanessa Redgrave among others criticized the cancellation. The one woman play finally opened off Broadway on the 15th of October 2006 for an initial run of 48 performances. He remained political until his last days working on videos for Save the Children and the Refugee Council.
In 2010 he explained that you only speak as a human being in life because you wish to respond to something you have heard. He believed recalling a speech to memory alone in a bedroom was nonsense in terms of learning to act. Talking to ABC Radio National in 2012 he revealed that Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville influenced and informed him. Two researchers found the perfect male voice to be a combination of Rickman's and Jeremy Irons voices based on a sample of fifty voices. The BBC stated his sonorous languid voice made even throwaway lines sound thought out and authoritative. In their vocal range exercises studying for a GCSE in drama he was singled out for excellent diction and articulation. Empire magazine chose him as number thirty four of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history in 1995. He ranked number eight out of fifty actors chosen by Empire twice in 2009 and 2010.
Rickman met Rima Horton at age nineteen in 1965. She became his partner in the early 1970s and later served as a Labour Party councillor from 1986 until 2006. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in 2012 though they had been together for decades. Throughout 2005 Rickman received treatment for an aggressive form of prostate cancer culminating in a prostatectomy in January 2006. This operation coincided with casting for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He deliberated over whether to return but decided to see it through stating it was his story. In August 2015 he suffered a minor stroke which led to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He revealed that he had terminal cancer only to his closest confidants.
On the 14th of January 2016 Rickman died at his home on Westbourne Terrace in London at the age of sixty nine. His remains were cremated on the 3rd of February in the West London Crematorium in Kensal Green. His ashes were given to his wife. Soon after his death fans created a memorial underneath the Platform 9¾ sign at London King's Cross railway station. His death has been compared to that of David Bowie who died four days earlier at the same age from cancer. Tributes poured in from co stars like Ralph Fiennes and Jason Isaacs who expressed surprise. J.K. Rowling called him a magnificent actor and wonderful man. An edited collection of his diaries from 1993 to 2015 was published on the 4th of October 2022 under the title Madly Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries. On the 30th of April 2023 Google commemorated him with a Doodle.
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Common questions
When and where was Alan Rickman born?
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born on the 21st of February 1946 in Brentford, London. He grew up in Acton, a district to the west of Wormwood Scrubs Prison.
What education did Alan Rickman receive before becoming an actor?
Alan Rickman studied at Chelsea College of Art and Design from 1965 until 1968 and then attended the Royal College of Art from 1968 to 1970. He later trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1972 until 1974 while working as a dresser for actors Nigel Hawthorne and Ralph Richardson.
Which film role made Alan Rickman famous as a villain?
Alan Rickman made his film debut as Hans Gruber in Die Hard released in 1988. His portrayal earned him critical acclaim and a spot on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains list as the 46th best villain in film history.
How long were Alan Rickman and Rima Horton together before they married?
Alan Rickman met Rima Horton at age nineteen in 1965 and she became his partner in the early 1970s. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in 2012 though they had been together for decades.
When did Alan Rickman die and what was the cause of death?
On the 14th of January 2016 Alan Rickman died at his home on Westbourne Terrace in London at the age of sixty nine. He suffered a minor stroke in August 2015 which led to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer that caused his death.