As you likely already know, Alan Rickman died yesterday after a bout with cancer. He was 69.
I’m going to be completely honest here. I didn’t even know his name. He was Severus Snape to me. That’s it. I guess he was known for a few other roles, but not to me he wasn’t. One of my coworkers told me early yesterday morning that he’d died. My response: “Who?” Then he said Snape.
I’m not aiming to drop him down a notch or alter your personal viewpoint of the man, but I really only knew him as Snape. But now I’m curious. I’m curious to know a little more about a man I hardly knew. Memories. Roles. Thoughts. Sure I could Google search and come up with some new information, but I’m interested to know what you’ll remember him most for. Which of his roles most impacted you. And what you initially thought upon hearing of his death. I just thought of random Snape quotes I’ve remembered from the movies.
Johnny Reads 
For me, it was Hans Gruber from “Die Hard”. I saw the film when it first came out in the 80s and loved it–and his role as the villain was a huge reason why. Upon hearing of his death, I felt the remote pangs that every fan of an actor feels, but to be honest I felt more for Christopher Lee.
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He was Hans from Die Hard for most of my life, I love the line where he’s giving his list of demands and one of his cohorts gives him a look and he says quietly, “I read about them in Time magazine.” Classic.
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That’s the one I’m going to look into. Different people with different tastes are all pointing to that performance. I’m also not familiar with Lee’s full body of work.
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Mostly Snape 😦 He played that role marvellously you could not tell whether he was helping harry or was his enemy till the end. Another movie which he directed called “A Little Chaos” I loved it, about the garden of Versailles. You dont really think about these things till they happen and then your like oh wow he was amazing. Its soo sad . RIP Alan Rickman
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Yes. Whenever I read the books in the future he’ll always be in my head as Snape. And he gave us eight great movies and performances, right? We’ll still have those and be able to appreciate him for some time into the future.
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The Sheriff of Nottingham was the first role I saw him in. He was very evil but in a hilarious way: “Loxley!!! I’ll cut your heart out with a spoon!!”
Then I saw him as terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard. Brilliant performance. You want to punch him in the gut, if you weren’t so scared of him shooting you right in the face without blinking.
And the next more than wonderful performance of his was in Snow Cake. He played a more quiet and settled character in that one, with fantastic depth, very complex.
He was a beautiful beautiful actor, he became the characters he played. I recommend you watch some more of his work, you will be utterly pleased y his ability to lay so much meaning in the tiniest of facial expressions or tone of voice.
Hope this was a bit what you were after. Cheers for now.
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I’ll have to check Netflix for those. Especially Die Hard. That’s the performance EVERYONE is mentioning. I’m sure once I see more of his work I’ll be able to appreciate him as an actor and person even more than I can now.
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As with you, I first ‘noticed’ Alan as Prof Snape but then I started noticing him in other things. The rather romantic Captain in Sense and Sensibility first, then I realised he was the Sheriff in Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves. I have continued to be amazed by more discoveries of this very versatile actor whose voice is instantly recognisable whatever part he plays. I’ve seen him in several things but I do think his role as Snape shows his great versatility as an actor because he could be so nasty but also so vulnerable in his love for Harry’s mum and then at the end when he died. I agree with Jasmin; he was able to convey so much by the tiniest expression.
I am very sad that he’s gone as I understand he was not only a talented film and Shakespearian actor but also a lovely man.
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I’ve never seen him in anything else. Wait, maybe in Love Actually? Or something like that? I just remember seeing him in something in passing and thinking of Snape. But I’m not sure of the title. I do agree, however about his versatility as an actor as put on display as Snape. He was the whole spectrum throughout that series.
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He was one of my favorites… I blogged about it yesterday. http://interpreterofinspiration.com/2016/01/14/no-guarantees/
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Sheriff of Nottingham, and also the Metatron in Dogma. Clever, clever man.
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I think I’ll make a list of his work and maybe check it all out over some time.
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Oh yes! I actually forgot about that. He was so earnest in this role that it turned into the funniest depiction of an angel I’ve ever seen.
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Die Hard. One of the best movie villians ever. He had great voice.
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Yes. That’s what I’ve heard from many people. Though I’ve honestly never seen it.
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I’ll always remember him as Snape, and I’ll always remember his voice as Absolem from Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. I was sad when I heard he’d died. 😔 He was an amazing actor.
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I’ll always remember, “Always.” 😟
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My favorite Alan Rickman role: Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility. Also, he was amazing in GalaxyQuest, playing the serious actor stuck with the role of the alien in a popular scifi series.
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Hmm. I’m not sure I’ve seen either one.
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I agree–Colonel Brandon was a great role for him and showed his versatility as an actor. Usually he played less likable characters. I think he was rather underrated.
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My thoughts exactly.
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