Goodbye, Alan Rickman.

The world woke this day, the 14th of January, to the news that Alan Rickman had passed away. The famed British actor and director who was known for his roles as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest, and, maybe more than any other roll, as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series. Rickman had a voice and articulation that made him a perfect film villain. 

Film critic Jason Solomons has said, at the passing of Rickman, that, "He had this real gift for being sort of sneeringly, withering, if you like, in a kind of classic British villain sort of way. But he had a great warmth to him as well. He was a very intelligent actor, very keen on the prose and the words, but very keen on the poetry as well."

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I absolutely loved Rickman's portrayal of The Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He gave the Sheriff a certain educated and yet malicious attitude that made us love and yet despise the character. The Sheriff was witty and not just a little daft, but he was also evil and selfish.

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Perhaps a roll for which he will be best remembered is as Professor Severus Snape. Of the Harry Potter books and the character of Severus Snape, Rickman has said, "The writer in this case is such a consummate storyteller that you let her lead you whether she's given you all the information or not. Something in there leads you in the right direction. And the number of people who followed Snape's story as also [members] of a reading audience is also a testament to Rowling's skills, I think. And frankly, every time I put that costume on something weird took over. It's the only character, and I suppose by my own instance really, [that] never changed his costume over 10 years. Everybody else grew up or had different kinds of outfits. Never Snape, and you sort of got the feeling that's the only thing he's got hanging in his wardrobe."

There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor & a wonderful man.

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 14, 2016

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As a fan, I can say that we, the audience, will miss Alan Rickman and will look back fondly on his body of work, the characters he brought to life and the stories that he gave strength with his unique voice and talents as an actor. Goodbye, Alan Rickman!

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Extra:

Here's a video from CineFix covering 7 things you might not have known about the film Die Hard, including the fact that Alan Rickman's surprised look when falling off the building at the end of the film was caused by him really being, well, surprised: