Something of Renaissance man, Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an actor with an extensive repertoire, despite a few performances that some would like to pigeonhole in him.  He has famously played the villain, but his theatre background combined with the diverse projects in which he has participated break that mold spectacularly.

Born on February 21, 1946 in Hammersmith, London, Alan Rickman grew up in a single parent home alongside 3 siblings.  And, unlike a lot of other actors and actresses, he did not join the theater immediately following his high school and/or college graduation.  In fact, when he graduated from Latymer Upper School, Rickman went to Chelsea College of Art in order to become a graphic artist.  When he turned 26 years old, Rickman decided to pursue the career that he had desired since he was very young.

He earned a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he did freelance jobs such as one he did as a designer on play West of Suez with an idol of his, Ralph Richardson.  While at the Royal Academy from 1972 to 1974, Rickman received the Forbes Robertson Prize, the Emile Littler Prize, and the Bancroft Gold Medal.  After the Academy, Rickman went on to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and was in one of his most praised performances as dangerously seductive Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Later stage material that Rickman starred in included mostly British projects where he was on both sides of the productions.  He performed in Royal National Theatre's production of Antony and Cleopatra with the incomparable Helen Mirren in 1998.  Additionally, he performed Hamlet on the stage in 1991.  But it was in 1996 that he directed natural talent Emma Thompson in The Winter Guest.  But stage work is not all that Alan Rickman is limited to.

Comedy is not usually a strong suit of most dramatic actors, but Rickman pulls it off with an ease seen in movies like “Love Actually” and “Dogma”.  And once again, Rickman steps out of a role and pulls strings from behind the scene when he helped Ruby Wax, a RSC peer, to engage in comedy writing.  Soon, Alan Rickman was directing many of Wax’s rave- reviewed shows.

Rickman is, however, known by big movie going audiences primarily by a handful of characters.  One is as Severus Snape in the popular series “Harry Potter”.  The “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” film in 1991 also contained a breakout performance by Rickman as Sheriff of Nottingham.  In America, Rickman is primarily best known as the villain he played in Die Hard.  British audiences will first recognize Rickman from his television role on “Barchester Towers” and in the romantic film Truly, Madly, Deeply.  Movies, theater, comedy, television—Rickman has done them all—and more.

Music is one other frontier that Rickman has conquered.  He was featured singing on a 2002 Shakespearean sonnet CD entitled “When Love Speaks”.  He also sang music composed by the one and only Adam Leonard.  As of 2005, Rickman manned behind the scenes once again though, as the director of My Name Is Rachel Corrie and won the Theatre Goers' Choice Awards for best director.
Furthermore, Rickman’s most notable awards are his Tony Award nomination for his performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses as well as and his Emmy nomination in “Something the Lord Made” in 2004.  He won an Emmy for the 1996 film “Rasputin” as well as a Golden Globe.  In fact, he has won a BAFTA for “Robin Hood” and a SAG award for “Rasputin”.  As varied as his successful performances have been, Rickman is the type of actor whose talent would be insulted if there was ever an attempt to define his career by just any one of his ventures.