Alan Rickman: A Reflection

On January 14^th 2016, Alan Rickman passed away from cancer, surrounded by his family and friends. Despite getting into acting fairly late at age 41, the roles he played would go down as some of the most deeply developed I have ever seen in film. In addition, he also contributed enormously to the theatre scene including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court Theatre. The actor was once quoted as saying: "If people want to know who I am, it is all in the work." That most definitely applies to the roles I saw him play over the years. Be warned as there are some spoilers abound!

1. Harry Potter (As Severus Snape)

From the moment we first saw him in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Professor Severus Snape oozed mystery; he stood out as the one who picked on his students at Hogwarts the most and yet beneath his cynical exterior, he had arguably the most detailed backstory of any character in JK Rowling’s popular series, something which Rickman kept a secret for a whole decade. Little did cinema-goers, and readers of the books known back then just how deep his character arc would go.

I can say without a doubt that Severus Snape is my favourite character of the entire series; quite unexpected considering we had so many great and memorable characters to latch onto. Alan Rickman’s performance was superb all the way through, but it was Deathly Hallows Part 2 where the final revelations surrounding his character were revealed and one of my favourite film scenes of all time came to life in an immensely poignant and heart-wrenching way.

2. Die Hard (As Hans Gruber)

The original Die Hard and indeed the series as a whole (At least up until 5) was a tremendously entertaining action series, and one of the things that set it apart was a series of solid and well thought out antagonists. Each one had their strengths, but none could top Alan Rickman’s unforgettable performance as Hans Gruber from the first film. The man was a professional and devious kind of criminal, and at the start of the film this is always on display.

Later on in the film, Gruber meets our protagonist John Mclaine and while he poses as an escaped hostage, we get a scene filled with dramatic tension. It’s here that the cracks in Gruber’s professionalism start to show. This is what made Hans such a multi-dimensional villain and Rickman’s performance made it all the more intriguing.

What I’ll remember him for

If you asked me to choose something specific which made Alan Rickman so memorable, I would go for the manner in which he spoke. His simple, monotone voice told us everything we needed to know about the authority and often ruthless nature his characters possessed. The interesting thing about this is that as Rickman’s films went on, this layer of gruffness eventually peeled back and we saw the more emotive aspects that rested underneath. Whether it was Gruber’s descent into petty thief territory or Snape’s broken past finally coming to the forefront, I always enjoyed how beautifully the actor captured this change.