First Bowie, Now Alan Rickman...
Rickman wasn’t one who relished playing the villain, but he was a genius at portraying them. He wanted to make sure a character realized their fullest potential, even if that character was pretty despicable all the way around. John Sessions, a friend of Rickman’s, once said that a kid at a party once asked Alan why he always played villains: Rickman responded, “I don’t play villains: I play very interesting people.”
Rickman was a brilliant actor. He wasn’t JUST Snape, though that was the role of a lifetime. He wasn’t JUST Hans Gruber, though that character is one of the greatest and most iconic villains in all of cinema BECAUSE of Rickman.
Here are some non-villain parts that Rickman gave life to:
Marvin the Paranoid Android from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Harry from Love Actually
Metatron (the voice of God) from Dogma
Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility
Alexander Dane from Galaxy Quest (a brilliant parody of Leonard Nimoy)
And let us never forget Professor Severus Snape, the role that required knowledge that only J. K. Rowling herself knew. The great author of the most beloved fantasy series of our time felt Rickman was the perfect choice, and trusted him with the greatest secret of the series before the novels were even finished.
And these are just a few of his magnificently varied characters. I’d like you to just look at the roles I’ve listed above and take in the purely unique quality of every part, savor the strength that Alan Rickman used to give every one of his performances life. While Science Fiction and Fantasy are in many ways the new mainstream cinema genres, they are still looked down upon by many actors. That has certainly changed, but Rickman was not at all bothered by the idea of playing genre specific parts: long before it was normal for actors of prestige to take on fantastically-oriented roles. This was because he respected the power of virtually all genres. Many of the parts he took were certainly brave. He parallels Tilda Swinton in that he’ll lend all of his talent to a big budget movie targeted at the widest possible audience but also give the same attention to more independent works with less money to spare and a more than likely limited audience (I’m recalling a rendition of some of Samuel Beckett’s work specifically). Rickman was undoubtedly an artist, but he was also an artist who helped other artists.
I honestly think he avoided his fear of being doomed to being typecast as the man who plays the villain. He gave too many brilliant performances to be thought of as only a villain actor. That said, he was one of the best villain actors of all time (on par will Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman). Do you know what Alan Rickman’s first cinematic role was? A little movie called Die Hard, where, in his first film role, he created both a villain for the ages and innovated the villain of the action genre to a height that few have rivaled. He understood Gruber’s intellect and endowed the character with the full intelligence that made the part so unforgettable. I’d now like to pay tribute to only a few of Rickman’s villains.
Hans Gruber from Die Hard (Ranked #46 [out of 50] on The American Film Institute’s list of the !00 Greatest Heroes & Villains in Cinema [should be higher, but making that list at all is an astounding feat]).
The Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Rickman’s Sheriff is by far the highlight of that film, and he gave a character that we all thought we knew a more sinister agency and higher ambition than previous incarnations of the role. Again, we see the signature Rickman intelligence shining through.
Grigori Rasputin in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny
Judge Turpin in Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - There are very few innocents in Sweeny Todd, and there are far more villains than heroes. Turpin, however, acts as the villain antagonist for the villain protagonist. The Judge is also the primum mobile of evil in that most of the horrific events that make up the story are due in large because of his own desires, which are as dangerous as they are licentious.
These are only four of Rickman’s villain portraits, and one can only marvel at his talent, brilliance, and devotion to his craft. Today we have lost a great player and a humble man of genius who devoted his life to art, who respected its multitudinous element of expression.
Alan Rickman
February 21, 1946 - January 14, 2016
Rest well. Know that your legacy will never be forgotten.
