The well-known actor beloved for his role as “Professor Snape” in the Harry Potter films, dies of cancer.
Alan Rickman, best known as “Professor Severus Snape” in the Harry Potter film series, has died in London of cancer. He was 69 years old. The celebrated actor also appeared in Die Hard, Sweeney Todd, and Love Actually. Rickman won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe award for his work in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny in 1996. He was also a celebrated stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in the London theatre.
Calling him “much loved,” and “one of the most singular voices in acting,” The Guardian reports Rickman was involved with social justice and political issues.
“Rickman remained politically active throughout his life: he was born, he said, ‘a card-carrying member of the Labour party’, and was highly involved with charities including Saving Faces and the International Performers’ Aid Trust, which seeks to help artists in developing and poverty-stricken countries.”
Rickman “expressed his belief that art ought to help educate as well as entertain. ‘Talent is an accident of genes, and a responsibility,’ he once said.”
A couple since 1965, he married his wife, British Labour party councillor Rima Horton, in 2012.
“Actors are agents of change,†he said. “A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.â€
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Image by Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia and a Creative Commons license