British actor Alan Rickman died aged 69 in London on Thursday. He had been suffering from cancer.
Rickman had very famously portrayed the character of Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.
After graduating from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Rickman supported himself as a dresser before working with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He shot to fame in 1988 for his performance in as Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Rickman was awarded with a Tony for his performance in Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1987 and then again in 2002 for a revival of Noël Coward’s Private Lives.
Rickman had also directed two films. The Winter Guest at London’s Almeida Theatre in 1995 and the film version of the same play in 1996 starring Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law, and A Little Chaos starring Kate Winslet.
Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter through the seven films in the series posted this touching tribute on Google+.
His death has come as a shock to his many fans. JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series expressed her grief on Twitter.
The official handle of the Harry Potter films also expressed grief.
Other celebrities also expressed their grief on Twitter.
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