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Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born February 21, 1946) is an acclaimed award-winning English film, television and stage actor.
Early life
Alan Rickman was born in Hammersmith, London to a working-class family. His father died when Rickman was eight, leaving his mother (whom he has always held in the highest respect) to raise their four children mostly alone. He says she married again, but divorced his stepfather after three years. "There was one love in her life." Rickman attended the Chelsea College of Art and made his way as a graphic artist in Soho. He received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) which he attended from 1972 - 1974. While there, he won the Emile Littler Prize, the Forbes Robertson Prize, and the Bancroft Gold Medal. Since then, he has been a constant presence on the British stage. A speech defect and an unusual tightness of his jaw have been credited with giving him his unique voice and line delivery.
Professional life
Rickman has worked extensively with various British repertory and experimental theatre groups on productions including The Seagull and Snoo Wilson's The Grass Widow at the Royal Court, and has appeared three times at the Edinburgh International Festival.
While working with the Royal Shakespeare Company he starred in, among other things, As You Like It. He made a particular impression as the male lead in the 1985 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. In 1986 he earned critical and popular acclaim as the elegant and heartless seducer. When the show came across the Atlantic in 1986, Rickman came with it to Broadway and there earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance.
“ "You can act truthfully or you can lie. You can reveal things about yourself or you can hide. Therefore, the audience recognizes something about themselves or they don't -- You hope they don't leave the theatre thinking 'that was nice...now where's the cab? ”
“ "If people want to know who I am, it is all in the work." ”
To television audiences he also became known as Mr. Slope in the BBC's 1980s adaptation of Barchester Towers. He played future Irish Taoiseach and president Éamon de Valera in the film Michael Collins alongside Liam Neeson. While playing romantic leads in British movies (Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and Truly, Madly, Deeply), he was generally typecast in Hollywood movies as an over-the-top villain (German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard and the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). He has also demonstrated considerable talent as a comedy actor in films such as Galaxy Quest, Dogma, and Love Actually. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his performance as Rasputin in 1996. He is also the potions professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. More recently, Rickman was cast as the voice of Marvin in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. Coincidentally, Rickman and David Learner, who occupied Marvin's costume for the TV adaptation and stage shows, studied together at the RADA. Rickman will continue playing the Potions Master Severus Snape in the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is currently being filmed in England. He will also be very busy this year with Snow Cake (with Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss) which will have its debut at the Berlinale and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (with Dustin Hoffman), directed by Tom Tykwer.
Alan Rickman has performed on stage in Noel Coward's romantic comedy Private Lives, which transferred to Broadway after its successful run in London at the Albery Theatre and ended in September 2002. Rickman had reunited with his Les Liaisons Dangereuses co-star, Lindsay Duncan, and director, Howard Davies for this Tony Award winning production.
His previous stage performance was as Marc Antony, opposite Helen Mirren as Cleopatra, in the Royal National Theatre's production of Antony and Cleopatra at the Olivier Theatre in London, which ran October 20 through December 3, 1998. Before that, he performed in Yukio Ninagawa's Tango at the End of Winter in London's West End and the Riverside Studio production of Hamlet in 1991, directed by Robert Sturua. He directed The Winter Guest at London's Almeida Theatre in 1995. He also directed the film version in 1996 starring Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law.
Rickman has also been featured in several musical works - most notably in a song composed by the English songwriter Adam Leonard. Moreover, the actor played a ‘Master of Ceremonies’ part in announcing the various instruments in Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells II on the track 'The Bell'. Mr. Rickman was also one of the many artists who recited Shakespearian sonnets on the 2002-released When Love Speaks CD, and is also featured prominently in a Texas music-video entitled "In Demand", which premiered on Europe MTV in August 2000.
My Name is Rachel Corrie
Rickman directed the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie in April 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre, London, and won the Theatre Goers' Choice Awards for best director. The production is based on the writings of Rachel Corrie, the 23 year old American woman who was killed accidentally on March 16, 2003 by an Israeli Army bulldozer while she was protesting against the demolition of Palestinian civilian homes used to conceal weapons smuggling tunnels.
My Name Is Rachel Corrie played at the West End's Playhouse Theatre in London from March to May 2006. The play also ran at both the Galway Arts Festival and the Edinburgh Fesitval in 2006.
Personal life
Although he has never married, he has been romantically involved with Rima Horton since their days at the Chelsea College of Art. They have no children.
Trivia
* Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#34). [1995]
* Ranked #59 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
* Although a highly successful film actor, he has frequently passed up film offers to return to the theater.
* Is the second of four children in his family. He has an older brother, a younger brother and a younger sister.
* Made Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003.
* When he was a child, he had a speech disability: his lower jaw was very tight, causing his words to be indistinctive and muffled. He still has a slight speech impediment, it is the tight lower jaw which gives him his distinctive drawl.
* In Die Hard (1988), he is seen firing a gun only once (in the atrium when Gruber realizes Holly is John's wife), due to his uncontrollable habit of flinching when the gun recoiled. In that scene he blinks just before the camera cuts.
* Was voted #19 in Empire Magazine's Greatest Living Movie Stars over the age of 50.
* Was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", and in 2002 for a revival of Noel Coward's "Private Lives".
* His portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) earned him a spot on the American Film Institute's list of the "100 Best Heroes/Villains" as the 46th best villain in film history.
* Says Canada is like a second home.
* Failed his California driving test at one point for "driving too cautiously through a green light"
* He is 11 years older than Timothy Spall, 12 years older than Adrian Rawlins and Gary Oldman, 17 years older than David Thewlis, and 21 years older than Geraldine Somerville. Nevertheless, the characters that the six of them play in the Harry Potter films are meant to be contemporaries and former classmates
Partial filmography
* Die Hard (1988), as Hans Gruber.
* The January Man (1989), as Ed, the painter.
* Quigley Down Under (1990), as Elliot Marston, an unscrupulous ranch owner
* Truly Madly Deeply (1991) as Jaime
* Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), as the Sheriff of Nottingham
* Close My Eyes (1991) as Sinclair Bryant
* Closet Land (1991), as The Interrogator
* Bob Roberts (1992), as Lukas Hart III
* Mesmer (1994), as Franz Mesmer
* An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) as P.L. O'Hara
* Sense and Sensibility (1995), as Colonel Brandon
* Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996), as Grigori Rasputin
* Michael Collins (1996), as Eamon de Valera
* The Winter Guest (1997) (director) (uncredited), Man in street
* Judas Kiss (1998), as Detective David Friedman
* Dark Harbor (1998), as David Weinberg
* Dogma (1999), as Metatron
# Galaxy Quest (1999), as Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus
# Play (2000), as M
# Help! I'm a Fish! (2000), as the voice of Joe
# Blow Dry (2001), as Phil Allen
# Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), as Severus Snape
# The Search for John Gissing (2001), as John Gissing
# Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), as Severus Snape
# King of the Hill-"Joust Like a Woman" (2002) as King Philip
# Love Actually (2003), as Harry
# Something the Lord Made (2004), as Dr. Alfred Blalock
# Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), as Severus Snape
# The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android
# Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), as Severus Snape
# Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), as Antoine Richis
# Snow Cake (2006), as Alex
# Nobel Son (2006), as Eli
# Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), as Severus Snape
# The Villa Golitsyn (2007), as Will Ludley
# Sweeney Todd (2008), as Judge Turpin
| Latest news about Alan Rickman |
Minghella Film Festival: Alan Rickman: Vox Pop From 2009 (podcast ...We caught up with the actor Alan Rickman, who had worked with Anthony on this first major film, Truly, Madly, Deeply where he acted opposite Juliet Stevenson. Have a listen … Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is ... Continue reading
Alan Rickman Set for April 27 BAM Artist Talk on Creditors ...Theater News: Alan Rickman Set for April 27 BAM Artist Talk on Creditors: by Andy Propst on TheaterMania.com. Continue reading
Film review – Sense and Sensibility « 6fishStarring: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman. Directed by: Ang Lee. Review: Ang Lee has surprised me here as he hasn't put a foot wrong and I wouldn't have thought him capable of this type of movie. ... Continue reading
Alan Rickman Latest NewsRandom Celebrity Blog. Alan Rickman Latest News. Archives ... Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:45 AM GMT. VIDEO: Alan Rickman Speech in Tbilisi Book Fair. WWW.YOUTUBE.COM writes: Read Full Story at WWW.YOUTUBE.COM ... Continue reading
Happy birthday, Alan Rickman! - SnitchSeeker.comAs it has passed midnight in the UK, Sunday, February 21st marks Alan Rickman 's birthday. Best known to Harry Potter fans for playing the dubious. Continue reading
“Alice in Burtonland†« Rubber Chicken Soup(Think Alan Rickman's “Sheriff of Nottingham†in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves . . . without the humor!) Casting against type is a risk, as it can seriously fail to convince the audience, and damage the film. ... Continue reading
Alan Rickman Fan ::: everything you want on alan and moreWelcome to Alan Rickman Fan, your source for everything up to date on the British actor. One of the most detailed sites out there, we are a paparazzi and candid free source, as well as anti-gossip. Hopefully you'll find everything you ... Continue reading
Stoners Lounge » Blog Archive » Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland ...Helena Bonham-Carter plays Bellatrix, Alan Rickman plays Snape, Timothy Spall plays Peter Pettigrew aka Wormtail, I think Frances de la Tour plays Madame Maxime? are all in the Harry Potter movies. And I love HP and I kinda like ... Continue reading
Texas: In demand... or Alan Rickman dancing :-DJust little something I haven't seen in a long time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4-gNN8WRHo Isn't Alan Rickman gorgeous in this? :-D. Continue reading
HAPPY BRITHDAY ALAN RICKMAN! | Open Society Book Club Discussions ...Open Book Society wants to congratulate the actor and theatre director Alan Rickman to his birthday! Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was born February 21st, 1946. Continue reading
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