Read Daniel Radcliffe and J.K. Rowling's Tributes to Alan Rickman
I'll always associate Alan Rickman with Die Hard villain Hans Gruber, but there's an entire generation who grew up reading J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels and watching the film adaptations who will forever connect him with the role of Severus Snape.
Rowling took to Twitter this morning to share her thoughts about Rickman's untimely death:
Daniel Radcliffe shared a touching tribute to his Potter co-star on his Google Plus page (of all places), tipping his hat at "one of the first adults to treat [him] like a peer rather than a child." Here's his statement in full:
Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I've ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I'm pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn't have to do that. I know other people who've been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say "if you call Alan, it doesn't matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he's doing, he'll get back to you within a day".
People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner(or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass.
As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.
Rest in peace, Mr. Rickman.