Alan Rickman dies aged 69

Alan Rickman, the British actor best known for his roles in Die Hard, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and the Harry Potter films, has died in London aged 69.

His death was confirmed on Thursday by his family, according to The Guardian, which reported that Rickman had been suffering from cancer.

Rickman began his acting career in theatre, where his credits include a Tony nomination for his performance in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

His feature film debut came in 1988 alongside Bruce Willis in Die Hard, playing scene-stealing villain Hans Gruber. Rickman went on to appear in more than 40 films, including the entire Harry Potter series, Sweeney Todd and Love Actually.

Rickman was awarded a BAFTA in 1992 for his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. In the same year, he was also BAFTA-nominated for his lead role in Truly, Madly, Deeply.

He received two further BAFTA nominations in 1996 and 1997, for Sense and Sensibility and Michael Collins respectively.

Rickman made his directorial debut in 1997 with The Winter Guest, starring Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law.

In 2014, he directed and co-wrote his second feature film, A Little Chaos, in which he also starred with Kate Winslet and Stanley Tucci. The film premiered as the closing gala at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

Rickman will next be seen in drone war drama Eye in the Sky, co-starring Helen Mirren, and he reprised his role as the Blue Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass.

At an on-stage event at BAFTA last April, the actor-director revealed how his first exposure to film was at school with titles like Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt, before going to art school and encountering his first major influences: Antonioni and Fellini.

“But I don’t know that I thought this would be part of my life,” he recalled. “To be perfectly honest, having a film career at all is a bit of a surprise.”

Winslet pays tribute

Kate Winslet, who starred for Rickman in A Little Chaos and acted opposite him early in her career in Ang Lee’s Sense And Sensibility in 1995, issued a statement on Thursday - choosing to pay tribute to the actor rather than comment about her Oscar nomination for Steve Jobs.

“We are all so devastated to lose Alan,” Winslet said. “He was loved enormously by so many. He was an exceptionally warm and giving man and an utterly phenomenal actor and gifted director.

“I remember being so intimidated by him when we worked together when I was 19, because he had such a powerful and commanding presence. And that voice! Oh, that voice…

“But the reality, of course, was that he was the kindest and best of men. Had the patience of a saint. He was a warm hearted puppy dog, who would do anything for anyone if it made them happy. He was a loving and devoted partner to Rima and like so many of us in our vast industry, my life was enriched by knowing him. My heart goes out to his family and those he loved.”