Cancel Christmas
Even on a day when the Oscar nominations are fresh out of the gate there is no film related news worth talking about more than the sad passing of Alan Rickman, who died on Thursday at the age of 69 after a fight with cancer.
Born in London on February 21, 1946, Rickman was a fixture on the British theatre scene for years before rocketing to stardom by absolutely knocking it out of the park in his first film role, playing the sophisticated and utterly insincere Hans Gruber in Die Hard in 1988. For the rest of his career, whether he was playing a Spock pastiche in Galaxy Quest, a bad husband in Love Actually, a depressed robot in Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy or The Worst Teacher In History Fictional Or Otherwise Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, Rickman’s ability to deliver wounded pathos or sneering contempt (or both) on tap consistently elevated his material and without him we have a big loss from the pantheon of 100% consistent British actors. Coming just days after the loss of an icon of a different flavour in David Bowie, this is tough. Rickman’s final film performances will be in British thriller Eye in the Sky and apparently existing Alice Through The Looking Glass. 2016, slow your roll and Rickman, RIP.
