Alan Rickman, British actor and director known for his roles as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, died in London on Thursday at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends, according to a family statement, and had been privately battling cancer.
Also a talented stage actor, he received a Tony Award nomination for his role as Vicomte de Valmont in Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1985 production of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses." The play was later moved to Broadway, a stage the actor would later return to in 2002 and 2011.
Longtime friends, former co-stars, and fans have responded to the news with heartbreak.
"There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death," J.K. Rowling wrote on Twitter. "He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man."
In the same hour, she added, "My thoughts are with Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts."
Although Rickman recently married Rima Horton in a secret wedding in 2012, the couple were together for 50 years. They first met when Horton was 18 and Rickman 19.
Close friend Emma Thompson, who worked with him in films such as Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually, expressed, "He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again."
Sir Ian McKellen, who played Tsar Nicholas II to Rickman's award-winning role as Rasputin, posted to Twitter as well.
"Behind his starry insouciance and careless elegance, behind that mournful face, which was just as beautiful when wracked with mirth, there was a super-active spirit, questing and achieving, a super-hero, unassuming but deadly effective."
And finally, if you should find your heart breaking more and more at the loss of this great talent -- his entrancing voice accompanied by strategic pauses that put you on edge every single time -- remember this quote by Rickman himself: "If people want to know who I am, it is all in the work."
You can always learn more about Alan Rickman through his acting career, which spans more than 40 years:
Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet (1978)
BBC
Vidal in Thérèse Raquin (TV Mini-Series, 1980)
BBC
Clive in Shelley (TV Series, 1980)
Thames Television
Mr. Brownlow in Smiley's People (TV Mini-Series, 1982)
Obadiah Slope in The Barchester Chronicles (TV Mini-Series, 1982)
BBC
Simon in Busted (TV Movie, 1983)
BBC
Croop in Summer Season (TV Series, 1985)
BBC
Voice of RADA / Dimitri in Girls on Top (TV Series, 1985)
Central Independent Television
Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988)
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Ed in The January Man (1989)
MGM
Colin in Theatre Night (TV Series, 1985)
BBC
Israel Yates in Screenplay (TV Series, 1989)
BBC
Jacques Roux in Revolutionary Witness (TV Short, 1989)
BBC
Elliott Marston in Quigley Down Under (1990)
Pathé Entertainment
Jamie in Truly Madly Deeply (1990)
BBC/Lionheart/Winston
Interrogator in Closet Land (1991)
Imagine Entertainment
Sheriff George of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Warner Bros./Morgan Creek Productions
Sinclair in Close My Eyes (1991)
Film Four International/Beambright
Lukas Hart III in Bob Roberts (1992)
Bob Roberts
Dwight Billings in Fallen Angels (1993)
Mirage Enterprises/Propaganda Films/Showtime Networks
Franz Anton Mesmer in Mesmer (1994)
Mesmer
P.L. O'Hara in An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
BBC
Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Columbia Pictures Corporation/Mirage Production
Grigori Rasputin in Rasputin (TV Movie, 1996)
HBO Pictures/Rysher/Citadel Entertainment
Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins (1996)
Warner Bros./Geffen Pictures
Directorial Debut - Also man in street in The Winter Guest (1997)
The Winter Guest
Detective David Friedman in Judas Kiss (1998)
Bandeira Entertainment/Flynn/Simchowitz/Key Entertainment
David Weinberg in Dark Harbor (1998)
Hart-Sharp Entertainment/Killer Films
Metatron in Dogma (1999)
View Askew/STK
Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest (1999)
Dreamworks
Leading Male in Texas: In Demand (Music video 2000)
Texas - In Demand
Voice of Joe in A Fish Tale (2000)
A. Film/Kinowelt Filmverleih/TV2 Danmark
Phil Allen in Blow Dry (2001)
IMF/Intermedia Films/Mirage Enterprises/West Eleven Films
Second Yorkshireman in We Know Where You Live (TV Movie, 2001)
From left to right: Vic Reeves, Eddie Izzard, Alan Rickman, and Harry Enfield together before the 'We Know Where You Live. Live!' event in London.
William Conran/PA Wire
Man in Play (Short, 2001)
Blue Angels Films/FilmFour/RTÉ/Tyrone Productions
Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
Warner Bros.
John Gissing in The Search for John Gissing (2001)
Sunlight Productions
Voice of King Philip in 'Joust Like a Woman' episode of King of the Hill (TV Series, 2002)
20th Century Fox Television
Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Warner Bros.
Harry in Love Actually (2003)
Universal Pictures
Dr. Alfred Blalock in Something the Lord Made (TV Movie, 2004)
HBO Films
Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Warner Bros.
Voice of Marvin, pictured right, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
Touchstone Pictures
Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Warner Bros.
Alex in Snow Cake (2006)
Revolution Films
Richis in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Constantin Film
Eli Michaelson in Nobel Son (2007)
Freestyle Releasing
Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Photofest
Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Warner Bros./DreamWorks Pictures
Steven Spurrier in Bottle Shock (2008)
Shocking Bottle Films
Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Warner Bros.
Narrator in Sonnet Number 12 (Short, 2009)
Various characters in Harold Pinter: A Celebration/Arena (TV Series documentary, 2010)
BBC
Voice of the Blue Caterpillar Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Walt Disney Pictures
General Alien in 'Aliens' episode of Back at the Barnyard (TV Series, 2010)
He in The Song of Lunch (TV Movie, 2010)
Masterpiece/BBC
Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Warner Bros.
As Himself in Portraits in Dramatic Time (2011)
David Michalek
Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Warner Bros.
The Storyteller in The Boy In The Bubble (2011)
Shabandar in Gambit (2012)
CBS Films
Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels' The Butler
Anne Marie Fox/AP
Karl Hoffmeister in A Promise (2013)
IFC Films
Hilly Kristal in CBGB (2013)
Todd in Dust (Short, 2013)
Louis XIV in A Little Chaos (2014) - Rickman's second film as Director
BBC
Lieutenant General Frank Benson in Eye in the Sky (2015)
Eye in the Sky
Voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
Disney
Source: IMDb
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