Born: 21st February 1946
Died: 14th January 2016 (69 years)
With a screen career that spanned nearly 40 years, Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman started his acting career on stage being awarded a scholarship to RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) at the age of 26. Yet it wasn’t until he was 42 that he made his first major screen role in Die Hard, which you can read more about in Unconventional Christmas Films.
He is more of a supporting actor than a leading one and if you look at his top ten worldwide box office record it is not until you get out of the top five before you find a film he shares screen time with the lead. Eight of the top ten are the Harry Potter franchise in which he plays Severus Snape, a role J. K. Rowling supposedly wrote with him in mind (see where making your name as a film villain gets you!), but if you take this franchise out of his list his biggest grossing film is as the Blue Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland not an Alan Rickman film as such but you do get to hear his smooth dulcet tones. Next comes Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves again a supporting role, actually a BAFTA award winning Supporting Role, and probably the best performance in the film is by Rickman – who else could deliver a line like “Just a minute. Robin Hood steals money from my pocket, forcing me to hurt the public, and they love him for it? … That’s it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas.” and saying that he would cut Robin’s heart out with a spoon responds to the question of why with “Because it’s DULL, you twit. It’ll hurt more.” I think this being such a box office hit was more a case of ‘come for Costner stay for Rickman’ than anything else (I know Robin Hood is based on a myth but I’ve been to Nottingham and no one there talks like this Robin does – at least they gave us the curtesy of his ‘brother’ having a similar accent although their father is played by Brian Blessed which then makes the accents worse). If IMDB is to be believed Kevin Costner wanted some of Rickman’s scenes cut as he felt he upstaged him!
Rickman’s third box office hit is a reprise of his role as the Blue Caterpillar so we’ll skip to the fourth – Love Actually – I’ve only seen this film once and didn’t really enjoy it and don’t intend to put myself through it again. I can only assume that the reason this got so high worldwide is because of its star-studded cast and that it’s a love story set at Christmas but this is just my opinion.
His fifth biggest worldwide box office hit is Lee Daniels’ The Butler. In this film Alan Rickman is on screen for less than 3 minutes about 1hr and 40 minutes into the film but do not reject this film because of how little he is in it – it is based on the true life story of Cecil Gaines, a butler in the White House, the star-studded cast doesn’t distract from the main story and you are taken on an emotional journey as you watch him live his life both personally and professionally. Watch it!
Die Hard missed out on the top five; probably the first film on the list he shares equal screen time with the main star, Bruce Willis (for those that didn’t know), with Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street ahead of it.
Two of my favourite Alan Rickman films missed out on the top ten, Galaxy Quest and Dogma. For those that don’t know Galaxy Quest is a bit of Sci-Fi frivolity. Rickman plays a member of the ‘Galaxy Quest’ space crew, an old TV series – think original Star Trek with actors throwing themselves from side to side as the ship is hit – now defunct but still popular instalment at Sci-Fi Conventions (definitely sounds familiar). They are mistaken for real crew members by aliens and taken into outer space to help defeat real alien foe. Rickman plays Alexander Dane, a classically trained actor (where did he get the inspiration for that!) who plays the alien, Doctor Lazarus, in the show and spends the whole film with a prosthetic head piece, even when he isn’t ‘acting the role’, yet you forget about it. He shares the screen with Sci-Fi royalty in the shape of Sigourney Weaver and holds his own (not that you’d expect anything less). He even gets to play the hero and for a short lived moment enjoy it until everyone starts lauding Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (Tim Allen). It’s funny and well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. Dogma on the other hand, although a comedy, makes you think more. A Kevin Smith film starring big names like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Chris Rock; the story surrounds two angels trying to get back into heaven through a loop hole (you’ll have to watch it to understand). Alan Rickman plays Metatron, the voice of God, who seeks out Bethany to stop them. He is only in three scenes throughout the film but he steals the scene every time – especially the final scene it’s subtle but scene stealing none the less.
Although known for his acting, Alan Rickman has also written and directed two screenplays.
Alan Rickman could sing (watch Sweeney Todd if you don’t believe me), act, sword fight and played a good film baddie. Just think if he had refused the roles in Die Hard and that of the Sheriff of Nottingham because he didn’t want to be typecast as a film baddie we may never have got to see this versatile actor on our screens and the Harry Potter generation may never have known who I’ve been talking about.
Alan Rickman was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in August 2015 and he passed away less than six months later, six weeks before his 70th birthday.
