Cancer Takes Another: RIP Alan Rickman

British actor and director Alan Rickman has passed away at age 69.

The family released a statement confirming the news, saying, “The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends.”

To genre fans, he will forever be linked with — depending on your point of view — Shakesperean actor Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest or Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. But it was his role as Hans Gruber in Die Hard that broke him into movies, imprinting on a generation what it means to be a villain.

Rickman won the role after producer Joel Silver saw a performance of Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway in 1986. Rickman was playing the Vicomte de Valmont, his work earning him the first of two Tony Award nominations.

Even after finding success in film, Rickman never strayed far from theatre, winning another Tony Award nom for Private Lives in 2002, in which he reunited with his Les Liaisons Dangereuses co-star Lindsay Duncan and director Howard Davies on Broadway after the show moved from London.

Born Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman, he began his pursuit of the arts with an early interest in calligraphy and watercolors, and while at Latymer Upper School, considered one of the leading academic schools in England, he became involved in drama. Eventually, he applied for an audition at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), where he attended from 1972 to 1974. In 1985, he won the role of Valmont in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses before it moved to New York.

Though he was known for his villains, mostly — Gruber, The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Rasputin in the HBO production — Rickman’s other film roles demonstrated a deep talent, as he played a wide range of characters: the ghost of a cellist in Truly, Madly, Deeply; Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility; King Louis XIV in A Little Chaos (which he also directed); and the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in the recent Alice in Wonderland films.

Rickman had recently (and secretly) married Rima Horton. The two have been a couple since 1965, when they were both teenagers.

Tributes:

There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 14, 2016

Farewell my friend.Your kindness & generosity ever since we met in LA in 1987 & ever since is incalculable.XX pic.twitter.com/BCUkCxMFj5

— Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) January 14, 2016

I do not want my heroes to die!
Alan Rickman is dead & he was another hero. Alan – thank you for being with us. We are sorry you had to go

— Eddie Izzard (@eddieizzard) January 14, 2016

What desperately sad news about Alan Rickman. A man of such talent, wicked charm & stunning screen & stage presence. He'll be sorely missed

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) January 14, 2016

So sad to hear the news of Alan Rickman. A wonderful actor and lovely man. Tragic news.

— David Morrissey (@davemorrissey64) January 14, 2016

Sense and Sensibility director Ang Lee called Rickman “a great human being” and said he was a “brilliant actor”.

Michael Gambon, who worked with Rickman in Harry Potter, told BBC Radio 4: “Everybody loved Alan. He was always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny. He had a great voice, he spoke wonderfully well.”

Of his chosen career, Rickman said, “Actors are agents of change,” adding, “A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.”