Alan Rickman 1946 - 2016

January 14, 2016 4:54 AM

Actor Alan Rickman, active in theater and film for 30 years and known for roles such as Professor Severus Snape in Harry Potter, has died at age 69 from cancer.
posted by divabat (434 comments total)

Ah man. This is just.... And Cancer again, ffs!

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(ps - needs "obit" and "obituary" tags)
posted by marienbad at 4:55 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Shit. If anyone was meaner than fucking cancer, I would have thought it would have been him.

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posted by nevercalm at 4:56 AM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

No.
posted by dirtdirt at 4:56 AM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

I'm sorry, that was genuine disbelief and denial.

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posted by dirtdirt at 4:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

January 2016 is proving to be hugely disappointing. Dammit. Can't we just use a get-out-of-month-free card? We could skip ahead to February.
posted by heyho at 4:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [19 favorites]

Fuck cancer.

Alan Rickman Takes Jimmy Fallon to Task for His Impersonation, June 2015
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

By Grabthar's hammer, fuck this week. And fuck cancer.

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posted by fight or flight at 4:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [116 favorites]

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Oh, God, fuck this week.
posted by skybluepink at 4:58 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

oh for fuck's sake. WHAT THE EVER LASTING FUCK.
posted by Mezentian at 4:58 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

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posted by sammyo at 4:59 AM on January 14, 2016

1) fuck cancer
2) I'm a just put this out there: Bowie had the song Lazarus on Blackstar, Rickman played Doctor Lazarus in Galaxy Quest...
posted by juv3nal at 4:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [67 favorites]

I'm just, ragequitting out of 2016 at this point.

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posted by halcyonday at 4:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [40 favorites]

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God what the fuck is going on this week? I didn't know either of these guys had cancer.

Weirdly just off the top of my head I think my favorite Rickman performance is Galaxy Quest. "By the hammer of Grobthar!"
posted by selfnoise at 4:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [13 favorites]

Time to turn this year off and on again, see if it boots up without these ridiculous fatal errors.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:00 AM on January 14, 2016 [118 favorites]

GOD DAMMIT.

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posted by Mooski at 5:00 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by youknowwhatpart at 5:01 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by supermassive at 5:02 AM on January 14, 2016

And yet Rupert Murdoch continues to draw breath.
posted by longbaugh at 5:02 AM on January 14, 2016 [48 favorites]

“Shoot the glass cancer!”


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posted by Fizz at 5:03 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Mister Moofoo at 5:03 AM on January 14, 2016

If you haven't seen him and Mos Def in Something the Lord Made you should really remedy that as soon as possible.

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posted by Rock Steady at 5:03 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

Fuck this week.

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posted by gmb at 5:04 AM on January 14, 2016

Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon prank Daniel Radcliffe (2004) is delightful.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [32 favorites]

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posted by Cash4Lead at 5:04 AM on January 14, 2016

Cancer again. At 69 again.

FUCK THIS FUCKING WEEK.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

And yet Rupert Murdoch continues to draw breath.

oh.... fer.... fuck's sake.......
posted by Mezentian at 5:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by grumpybear69 at 5:07 AM on January 14, 2016

This is some major bullshit right here.
Let's hit CNTRL-ALT-DELETE and try 2016 again, shall we?

Either that, or Heaven is under some sort of magical attack and needed Earth's best wizard to help defend the pearly gates.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 5:07 AM on January 14, 2016 [23 favorites]

what the ever loving shit

no NO NO
posted by Kitteh at 5:08 AM on January 14, 2016

fuck
posted by valdesm at 5:09 AM on January 14, 2016

Either that, or Heaven is under some sort of magical attack and needed Earth's best wizard to help defend the pearly gates.

Is that referring to David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or both?
posted by Aznable at 5:09 AM on January 14, 2016 [47 favorites]

The future they promised me had flying cars and a cure for cancer. The future I got has neither.

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posted by tommasz at 5:09 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by Laura in Canada at 5:09 AM on January 14, 2016

Fucking hell. I was just marveling again at his performance in Die Hard a couple of weeks ago. Bruce Willis might have gotten top billing, but Alan Rickman was the apotheosis of all sinister action movie masterminds in that film.
posted by usonian at 5:09 AM on January 14, 2016 [36 favorites]

Fucking fuck fucking cancer!

Damn.


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posted by Thorzdad at 5:10 AM on January 14, 2016

I... I think I need him to come back as a ghost and help us move on.
posted by Gable Oak at 5:10 AM on January 14, 2016 [17 favorites]

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By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!
posted by MrGuilt at 5:10 AM on January 14, 2016 [19 favorites]

Is that referring to David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or both?

Well, Lemmy is god, so both. Unless there's a wizard-off.... but, if Bowie is the judge....
Fuck.... There's going to be another.
posted by Mezentian at 5:10 AM on January 14, 2016

Is that referring to David Bowie, Alan Rickman, or both?

Yes.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 5:10 AM on January 14, 2016 [16 favorites]

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Indeed, he was an excellent villain, and never better than in Die Hard.
posted by LeLiLo at 5:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:11 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by the sobsister at 5:11 AM on January 14, 2016

By Grabthar's Hammer, you shall be avenged!

Die Hard: Hans Meets McClane

Dogma Great Moments - Metatron
posted by Mezentian at 5:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

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posted by drezdn at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by bolix at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2016

Aaaah. Not fair! Enough now! Make it stop!
I hope there is an afterlife where good people who were good at entertaining so many people all over the world get a special extra reward for their talents, or something like that. I don’t even know what to say. Aah.
r.i.p.
posted by bitteschoen at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by kbanas at 5:12 AM on January 14, 2016

Alan Rickman's Answering Machine
posted by Mezentian at 5:13 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

This is not the week to be British.
posted by guiseroom at 5:13 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Flannery Culp at 5:13 AM on January 14, 2016

Or to be 69 years old.
posted by Gordafarin at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by radwolf76 at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2016

So basically 2016 is going to be the year where people I admire and love just die.

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posted by Kitteh at 5:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

via my friend Mike Bloom, "Screw all the talk about Snape being a hero or a villain. You better believe Alan Rickman was a hero, and a fantastic one at that."
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

Alan Rickman at age 69, of cancer.
David Bowie at age 69, of cancer.

Shit, who's next?!?
posted by easily confused at 5:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Me right now.
posted by Fizz at 5:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by drnick at 5:15 AM on January 14, 2016

I think it was in a prior MeFi Galaxy Quest appreciation thread that someone pointed out the amazing tumult of emotions Rickman silently displays , after he says "By Grabthar's Hammer..." and before "What a savings." Look.
posted by borborygmi at 5:16 AM on January 14, 2016 [59 favorites]

This is just so sad
posted by Namlit at 5:17 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh, damn.

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posted by Gelatin at 5:17 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by bunderful at 5:18 AM on January 14, 2016

Saw the name trending on Twitter and figured the news was not good.

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posted by Sheydem-tants at 5:18 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by acb at 5:18 AM on January 14, 2016

In a lifetime full of amazing roles and performances, this one just might be my favorite: Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman.
posted by ourobouros at 5:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [31 favorites]

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posted by ZeusHumms at 5:19 AM on January 14, 2016

I'm honestly getting to the point of dreading opening up Metafilter because I am afraid another hero of mine will have died overnight.
posted by vuron at 5:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

Someone figure out what other amazing famous people are 69 right now, we need to warn them!
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 5:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

"Truly, Madly, Deeply" was my first sighting. How surprised I was that his career wasn't dominated by romantic leading roles.

Also, his directing work. Opening "My Name Is Rachel Corrie".

Fuck.
posted by allthinky at 5:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

I fell in love with Alan during Dogma. He was so delightfully irascible and then during Love Actually while he was breaking Emma Thompson's darling heart,I could still sympathise with his character even though I didn't want to. Damn. I remember as a teen when my mother kept getting upsetting about unknown celebrities dying. Who gave a shit? They weren't part of our lives. But now I know they were. We just weren't part of theirs.
posted by b33j at 5:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [32 favorites]

This is horrible.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:22 AM on January 14, 2016

⚡️
posted by Brainy at 5:23 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

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FUCK.

I had the pleasure of seeing him live on broadway in Seminar. He played his usual arch, ultra-sarcastic disdainful snob dismissing the sycophants around him with a well turned phrase, a sneer, an eyebrow visible from 15 rows back. I enjoyed it thoroughly as it was spectacular live scenery-chewing of the best knd.

But there was an immense humanism beneath this and his other disdain-laden characters (cf. Snape as the classic in his Hollywood work, that penultimate meeting with Gambon as Dumbledore, wow). There is one scene in Seminar where the obviously-wounded snob really opens himself up to a person (I won't give it away in case you haven't seen the play).....but he says one line of maybe 3-4 words and to me the whole theater simply froze, and it was as if a giant veil came between me and the rest of the audience and it was somehow suddenly just I and his character in a room where I had been transported to 3 feet from his face seeing this wounded creature open up. I felt his rage, his pain and his armor fall away so you could see the person that was under all of the bluster. It was one of the most powerful live performance moments I've ever experienced and I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to have seen it, and him, in person.

For this and many other reasons, we were lucky to have you around Alan, you'll be missed.
posted by lalochezia at 5:24 AM on January 14, 2016 [29 favorites]

A while back, a friend lent me his copy of Truly Madly Deeply because I had never seen it. Because I am a spaz about such things -- I still haven't given it back. I think tonight I'll rewatch and then make a better effort to return it.

"Truly, Madly, Deeply" was my first sighting. How surprised I was that his career wasn't dominated by romantic leading roles.

Agreed. Though my first thought upon reading this was "Not Col. Brandon!"

This one is hitting me harder than I would have expected.
posted by JustKeepSwimming at 5:24 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

.

I am devastated by this. Among my friend circle in college, we loved Alan Rickman so much that for Valentine's Day we'd have Alan Rickman Weekend and marathon all his movies. Those are among my fondest college memories. I hate this so much.

To anyone planning a similar marathon, I recommend that you skip Truly Madly Deeply, because it will destroy you. The first time my friends and I saw it, we played it under the impression that it was the "funny version of Ghost!" and light-hearted. By the end of the movie, we were all clutching each other and sobbing in grief.

Fuck, fuck, I hate this so much. God bless you, Alan Rickman.
posted by nicebookrack at 5:24 AM on January 14, 2016 [33 favorites]

Goddammit.

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posted by miratime at 5:24 AM on January 14, 2016

lalochezia, we saw him in Seminar as well, and while we didn't like the play, watching him on stage was fascinating.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 5:25 AM on January 14, 2016

"That's it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas."
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:26 AM on January 14, 2016 [40 favorites]

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posted by Foosnark at 5:28 AM on January 14, 2016

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And fuck cancer.
posted by dances with hamsters at 5:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

He gave terrific performances in so many films. Die Hard wouldn't have been as good without his role as the villain. He could be dramatic (Harry Potter), funny Dogma and Galaxy Quest and romantic (Truly Madly Deeply).

Through all of them, he always brought something different to the role. He's hilarious in Galaxy Quest as the butt of many jokes, which makes his dignity and outrage in the last "by Grabthar's hammer" speech all the more awesome. As b33j points out, his character makes nothing but bad choices in and yet he's sympathetic. And his snarky and irascible angel in Dogma turns out to have a tender side as well. I think it'll be Galaxy Quest I watch in tribute, though. Fuck cancer.
posted by Gelatin at 5:29 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

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Definitely call off Christmas.
posted by kariebookish at 5:29 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

I'm glad the blue is breaking this kind of news to me. And I suppose I wouldn't tell anyone if I had cancer, either.
posted by blnkfrnk at 5:30 AM on January 14, 2016

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I can't even.
posted by Faintdreams at 5:30 AM on January 14, 2016

Fucking hell. I was just marveling again at his performance in Die Hard a couple of weeks ago. Bruce Willis might have gotten top billing, but Alan Rickman was the apotheosis of all sinister action movie masterminds in that film.

Doubly gobsmacking when you realise that was his first ever feature film.
posted by Happy Dave at 5:30 AM on January 14, 2016 [21 favorites]

Like others in this thread, I was first really captivated by Rickman's acting in Truly, Madly, Deeply, back when you really had to hunt around in video stores to find a copy. It's still one of the best movies to seriously come to grips with the awfulness implied by the idea that love might survive death--really, the necessity for love itself to die, for the sake of the living. And the scene in which he and the equally glorious Juliet Stevenson recite Neruda's "The Dead Woman" is still affecting.

So long, Alan. "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", indeed.
posted by informavore at 5:31 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

Goddammit. I would ask a rhetorical question, but I'm afraid this week would take it as a challenge. Let's not lose any more wonderful voices, okay?
posted by EvaDestruction at 5:32 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

... well, bugger all.

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posted by Archelaus at 5:33 AM on January 14, 2016

Dammit. We just had our inaugural viewing of Die Hard for Christmas because Mrs. Ghidorah had never actually seen it. I can't recall a film where anything he did felt mailed in. His performance was almost always the high point of whatever he was in, and, as mentioned above, his turn in Love Actually, and the story between him and Emma Thompson was pretty much the deep, beautiful core of an otherwise flimsy romantic comedy.

And I always loved his sudden American accent in Die Hard. "Aaaaaoh gawd yer one a them! Please don't kill me!"
posted by Ghidorah at 5:33 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

Texas - In Demand
posted by miratime at 5:35 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by the_wintry_mizzenmast at 5:36 AM on January 14, 2016

From the very first moment he is on screen in the Harry Potter film franchise, Rickman shows how powerful his craft truly is:

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

That speech always gave me goosebumps and it tells you all you need to know about this wizard. Snape is not to be fucked with.
posted by Fizz at 5:36 AM on January 14, 2016 [20 favorites]

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posted by TedW at 5:36 AM on January 14, 2016

THAT IS IT THIS WEEK IS CANCELLED
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:36 AM on January 14, 2016 [18 favorites]

My heart is breaking into smaller and smaller pieces.
posted by h00py at 5:37 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Major Matt Mason Dixon: "Either that, or Heaven is under some sort of magical attack and needed Earth's best wizard to help defend the pearly gates."

I'm assuming Bowie and Rickman have been called to subdue Lemmy.
posted by Bugbread at 5:37 AM on January 14, 2016 [51 favorites]

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posted by mustard seeds at 5:38 AM on January 14, 2016

I remember watching Truly, Madly, Deeply and thinking hey! it's the villain from Die Hard. By the end of it, I knew to always watch any movie with him in it. Sometimes you'd be disappointed in the movie (Robin Hood), but never his performance. Sense and Sensibility, Galaxy Quest, Love Actually, the Harry Potter series... from small to large roles, he was a commanding presence that didn't override the story, just made it better.

Damn.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 5:39 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

*flips over table*

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posted by schmod at 5:39 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

All I know is the annual Christmas viewing of Love Actually is just going to be full-on sobbing this year.
posted by Kitteh at 5:39 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

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posted by ogooglebar at 5:40 AM on January 14, 2016

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One hell of a terrible rule of threes.
posted by Going To Maine at 5:40 AM on January 14, 2016

I can't say I'm terribly fond of this year so far.

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posted by entropicamericana at 5:41 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

somebody please go check on patrick stewart
posted by schmod at 5:41 AM on January 14, 2016 [37 favorites]

...and keep an ear out for Brian Blessed.
posted by ardgedee at 5:42 AM on January 14, 2016 [13 favorites]

Scott Weiland was the tipping point between my generation's beloved celebrities dying young from drugs and dying old from cancer. :(
posted by jozxyqk at 5:43 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by neushoorn at 5:43 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by thegirlwiththehat at 5:45 AM on January 14, 2016

Worst news.

Tim Curry is still alive, right? He is also 69 iirc.
posted by chaoticgood at 5:46 AM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

So far, this year is sucking harder than a black hole.

His Metatron in "Dogma" is the best thing about that movie.

RIP

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posted by dbiedny at 5:46 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

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posted by Metroid Baby at 5:46 AM on January 14, 2016

This week is making me want to crawl into bed and not get out.

I think we will watch some David Bowie and Alan Rickman movies this weekend. And get drunk.

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posted by rtha at 5:46 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

The thing I always loved him in was The January Man. And I only know like three other people who've seen it, so it always feels like a little secret. Remember that time Alan Rickman was a painter helping Kevin Kline with a murder investigation? Oh, that was fun.

This week SUCKS.
posted by palomar at 5:47 AM on January 14, 2016 [13 favorites]

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posted by leslies at 5:49 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by pinacotheca at 5:49 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by crocomancer at 5:49 AM on January 14, 2016

It's almost as though cancer is deliberately targeting the British pop-culture crushes of every nerd girl I grew up with. Somebody had better check up on Tim Curry, Boy George, and all past and present Doctors Who.
posted by Strange Interlude at 5:49 AM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

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It's like cancer overheard Obama and Biden talking shit about it and decided to fuck as much shit up as it could.
posted by zombieflanders at 5:50 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

NOOO.

And the week continues to suck. Bowie, Baraka, Rickman...

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posted by Miko at 5:50 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

The brilliant story about how the actor hid Snape’s story arc from everyone, including the Harry Potter director
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 5:54 AM on January 14, 2016 [19 favorites]

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posted by joedan at 5:54 AM on January 14, 2016

Baraka was 2014, Miko.
posted by juv3nal at 5:56 AM on January 14, 2016

Being from Nottingham and of a certain age, my main Alan Rickman thing is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

It's maybe not a great film (maybe), but boy does he have some fun with that performance.

"And what about you: pain or death?"

"And call off Christmas!"

"Cut your heart out with a spoon!"
posted by Hartster at 5:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

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posted by Jacqueline at 5:58 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I played Richard III! There were five curtain calls! (RIP, Dr. Lazarus.)
posted by tizzie at 5:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [15 favorites]

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posted by tickingclock at 6:00 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh, good Ford, I'd forgotten all about The January Man, let alone that Rickman appeared in it. That was one of his many gifts -- Like Robin Hood, his performances made even mediocre movies worth watching.
posted by Gelatin at 6:02 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I was right all along. There is no god.


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posted by taff at 6:03 AM on January 14, 2016

I'm not okay with this.
posted by ilama at 6:03 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Now, I've never had the sort of income where I could just drop my loose change to go see plays, but the universe was kind enough to give me a chance to see Alan Rickman in 2011 at BAM in John Gabriel Borkman, along with Fiona Shaw an Lindsay Duncan. He was transcendent and funny. It was a thrill to see him.

Damn it, fuck cancer.

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posted by droplet at 6:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Billy Mack - Christmas is all Around
Christmas, in a video.

And Judas Kiss... not only does it have one of the sexiest sex scenes in all of SEX, Rickman rocks it.

(Also, no Galaxy Quest II or Rickman in Dr Who? FUCKING CAST WILLIAM RUSSEL NOW, CHUMS!)
posted by Mezentian at 6:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Damn. This comes as a real shock. He was in everything. How will Alan Rickman not be in everything? How will that work?

Tim Curry is still alive, right? He is also 69 iirc.

Curry is alive, but he had a disabling stroke a few years ago. I can't say how his health is doing, but the effects of his stroke are very visible and I gather he is a long way from performing. If the good wishes of his fans count for anything, he'll be struttin' the boards again soon.

At least we know Malcom McDowell will never die. When the reaper comes Malcolm will distract him with some charming quips then give him a hard knee to the dusty yarbles and run off cackling to his next gig doing a voiceover for a cheapo video game or whatever.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 6:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [18 favorites]

*
2016 is just shaping up to be a banner year.
posted by ElleElle at 6:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Axle at 6:06 AM on January 14, 2016

I fell in love with him when he was in Sense & Sensibibility with Emma Thompson. When he got cast in Harry Potter, my heart was his through and through, even though Snape was an unmitigated asshole. But Alan was mine and I loved him so very much. Always always will.

We really need to put some extra strong protective wards around Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Betty White, like stat.
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2016 [15 favorites]

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posted by Smart Dalek at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2016

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Funny, the church from Dogma is a block away from the parking deck at my office and I found myself staring at it this morning as I got out of the car. That movie is as lumpy as any Kevin Smith movie but it's got great performances and his is the best in it.
posted by octothorpe at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

At least we know Malcom McDowell will never die.

Yeah, we said that about Bowie.
posted by Mezentian at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by p3t3 at 6:07 AM on January 14, 2016

I started re-reading the Harry Potter books last weekend so Rickman has been very much in my brain the past few days. What a shock.
posted by Mavri at 6:08 AM on January 14, 2016

We really need to put some extra strong protective wards around Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Betty White, like stat.

Miriam Margolyes and Warwick Davies feel unloved.
posted by Mezentian at 6:08 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

When asked recently about his proudest Royal Court moment, his answer was not about him: he said it was when he took Rachel Corrie’s parents outside the front of the theatre to show them their late daughter’s name in neon lights.

Alan Rickman: the most loyal, playful and generous of friends
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:09 AM on January 14, 2016 [16 favorites]

Always

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posted by spinturtle at 6:10 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Alan Rickman's reading of Return of the Native is fantastic (and also 15 hrs of Alan Rickman, if that will help anyone right now).
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

I also think cut your heart out with a spoon is a top ten villain line. Google is failing to fetch my favorite Rickman anecdote. When Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was a newlywed he sent her and her husband a Christmas card with an 8 X 10 glossy still from Robin Hood where he was kissing Ms. Mastrantonio.

I wonder if they kept it in thier attic somewhere.
posted by bukvich at 6:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

In a lifetime full of amazing roles and performances, this one just might be my favorite: Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman.

WATCH THIS.
posted by Mezentian at 6:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Oh! He was just so good. *sigh*

Also: Waitforit, waitforit, waaaaaait. [SLYT]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

The start of 2016 has been personally very difficult. And then Bowie and now my favorite, Alan Rickman. I need something a lot stronger than butterbeer to deal with all of it.
posted by narancia at 6:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fuck cancer and fuck this week.
posted by Ruki at 6:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I will always remember him for playing Hans Gruber, the Sherriff of Nottingham, and Professor Snape. I know his body of work is much larger than that, but those roles are imprinted on me as his, now and forever.

Fuck cancer. And we're only 14 days into January, and I'm already giving 2016 the stink eye.

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posted by nubs at 6:13 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well, what a thing to wake up to.

I remember I saw The January Man simply because of Kevin Kline and Alan Rickman, without knowing anything else about the movie.

He was in much that I loved, and he was usually the best thing in it.

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posted by hippybear at 6:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by valkane at 6:14 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 6:14 AM on January 14, 2016

Yes, I assumed Alan sang Bill Nighy's part in Christmas Is All Around. And he would have been AWESOME
posted by Mezentian at 6:15 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by pb at 6:15 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh man, I am devastated.

I just watched a film that he directed and starred in, A Little Chaos, about building the gardens at Versailles. I feel like maybe it was straight to video here? But it was a sweet movie and he was captivating as always.

But my introduction to Rickman was through Kevin Costner's Robin Hood. Which, yes, is a TERRIBLE movie (unless, ahem, you're a 14 year-old girl, in which case it is PERFECT). And Rickman didn't let that stop him, and chewed the scenery with glee and generally looked like the only person having fun with it. And so, for lo these many years, "Celts? They drink the blood of their dead!" has always run through my brain at the thought of Alan Rickman.

And this was a lovely conclusin to the Guardian obit: Actors are agents of change,” he said. “A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.”
RIP. And fuck cancer and this week.
posted by TwoStride at 6:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

I think you ought to know I'm feeling very depressed.

(For everything the Hithchhiker's Guide movie did "wrong", casting Alan as Marvin was not one of them.)

I like the Hitchhiker's Movie...

.
posted by SansPoint at 6:16 AM on January 14, 2016 [34 favorites]

I DID ENJOY HIS ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCT

o
posted by nom de poop at 6:17 AM on January 14, 2016

Someone go check in on Barishnikov and David Hockney and see that they're all right.

.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:19 AM on January 14, 2016

So basically 2016 is going to be the year where people I admire and love just die.

Same as every other year, I'm afraid. :(
posted by aught at 6:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

Ahh poop.

.
posted by Wretch729 at 6:20 AM on January 14, 2016

I have to tell my daughter Snape is dead. For real. She watches for him in every movie he is in.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
posted by corb at 6:20 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

.

No Academy Awards. Okay, fine, there have been iconic actors who never got an Oscar, but Alan Rickman -- the man who redefined action movie villains to the extent that everyone after him was either at least a quarter Hans Gruber or sucked; the man who made Severus Snape human when he was literally the only man alive who knew that Severus Snape was human -- got no nominations, and they came out today and didn't have him again and he's never going to be in another movie and fuck you, Academy. You missed the goddamn boat.
posted by Etrigan at 6:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [65 favorites]

.
posted by fourpotatoes at 6:21 AM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by bouvin at 6:22 AM on January 14, 2016

This year continues to suck.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 6:25 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

.

Mr Rickman won't be joining us for the rest of his life. (sob)
posted by Molesome at 6:25 AM on January 14, 2016 [13 favorites]

.
posted by OmieWise at 6:25 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh bloody hell.

.
posted by Archer25 at 6:26 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh no. Oh no, oh no.

I didn't even know he was ill.

I saw him Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway in the late '80's. He had such presence and power. Totally stole the show.

And he did exactly that -- steal the show -- in film after film throughout the years. From the Harry Potter series to Galaxy Quest, Love Actually, Dogma, Robin Hood, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Die Hard.... he created such vivid characters, even in otherwise flawed or forgettable films.

So upsetting. :(

.
posted by zarq at 6:26 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

ElseNet, I asked: How many actors are there that, if you noticed their name on a movie poster, you'd automatically think “I should see that movie?”

A friend explicitly gave the answer implicit in the question: “Well, one fewer than yesterday, anyway.”

Yeah. That.

.
posted by seyirci at 6:27 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

When the original "Die Hard" came out, it ended up playing in the dollar-theater a mile from my house for about six months. I think I saw it like a hundred times. Rickman was the clear MVP on that film, there's no question at. Later on, when I finally got around to reading the Harry Potter books, before the movie cast had been announced, I immediately recognized that Snape was being played by Rickman, just based on the character's manner of speaking.

When they announced he was really actually going to play the role, I couldn't quite believe they'd got it so right. It was much later on that I found out Rowling had wanted him specifically. I'd like to know what she had seen of his work that made him her model villain/antihero. From what I understand, he wasn't going to take the role until she divulged the ending of the character's arc in the yet uncompleted 7th volume to him.

RIP Alan. You did great work, thank you.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

I am genuinely gutted by this. I loved, loved, loved every single damn thing that Alan Rickman was ever in. Everything. Even An Awfully Big Adventure, when he played an incestuous drunkard who accidentally drowns himself.

And he was fucking (yes, I said fucking) brilliant as the Sheriff of Nottingham. So funny.

Rest in Peace.

.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

.

So many movies would be nothing without him.
posted by Artw at 6:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:29 AM on January 14, 2016

Oh, and also...by virtue of his role in "Die Hard" and then his role in "Galaxy Quest", he was both the best James Bond villain never to square off against 007, and the best crew member on the Enterprise who was never actually involved in "Star Trek".
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:30 AM on January 14, 2016 [39 favorites]

I never sought him out but always loved him when he appeared. The resigned, exhausted, loathing of the world and those around him was always utterly delightful to me. We just happened across Quigley Down Under not too long ago and watched it again. Just a complete, perfect villain.

RIP. Regards to his family. Thank you for sharing him.
posted by Beti at 6:32 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Oh no! My wife will be sad.
posted by alasdair at 6:34 AM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by slipthought at 6:34 AM on January 14, 2016

We just happened across Quigley Down Under not too long ago and watched it again

No way.
Because I said "never again", but now I am like... well... maybe.
posted by Mezentian at 6:35 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

And now I'm watching clips and trying not to sob at my desk.

Fuck cancer.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:35 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Sorry to hear of Alan Rickman's passing, he was one of those actors that if I heard he was in something, I'd be interested, he was just that good. He was also an excellent, though sparse, director. Check out his last directing project, A Little Chaos, a gorgeous looking period piece that takes a slightly different approach to the genre.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:36 AM on January 14, 2016

My god, I didn't even know how much he had a hand in reinventing the action movie villain:

He decided that it would be more interesting for his character to wear a suit than the full terrorist gear, and in one scene pretend to be a hostage. He then left a note on the producer Joel Silver's table with his suggestions.

Rickman said, "I got Joel saying, 'Get the hell out of here, you'll wear what you're told.' But when I came back, I was handed a new script. It showed that it pays to have a little bit of theatre training."

posted by Etrigan at 6:36 AM on January 14, 2016 [41 favorites]

.
posted by ojemine at 6:38 AM on January 14, 2016

goddammitsomuch

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posted by JohnFromGR at 6:39 AM on January 14, 2016

On Alan Rickman's first day of shooting he filmed the scene where Hans Gruber first runs into John McClane. He made a jump off the ledge about three feet high. He injured his knee when he landed and damaged some cartilage in his knee. He was told by his doctor not to put any weight on that leg and he had to use crutches for a week. For the rest of the scene where Hans Gruber is standing and talking to John McClane, Alan Rickman is standing on one leg for the entire time and has a leg brace on under his pants.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:42 AM on January 14, 2016 [24 favorites]

.
posted by Pendragon at 6:43 AM on January 14, 2016

Nooooooo. :(
posted by jet_pack_in_a_can at 6:44 AM on January 14, 2016

This is a little story that Kevin Smith likes to tell about how putting the fear of Rickman into his friend Jason Mews inspired him to be a better actor.

Dogma, though, we kept impressing on this cat, "You've gotta be topnotch. You are the strong back that's got to carry the movie. You've gotta be funny and on cue all the time. You gotta know your lines. You can't be shy... because we got real actors in the movie this time."

"Not like Affleck?"

"Not like Affleck."

"Who?"

"We got Alan Rickman."

"Who the fuck's that?"

"Alan Rickman. You know, from Die Hard, yippee-kai-yay?"

"Bruce Willis?"

"No. The other guy. Alan Rickman, he's the villain."

"All right. So what?"

"Alan Rickman is a British actor. And British actors fucking invented acting. They will chew the scenery around you. He won't put up for 'snoochie boochies' and shit like that. He needs you to be on and fucking topnotch. He's worked with the best. You can't let a dude like this down."

As with all the other films, I rehearse with all the actors separately... and Mewes I start with by himself and then work him into the group.

So I sit down with Mewes to start rehearsing. And he comes in, no script.

I'm like, "Where's your script?"

"I don't need it."

"What?"

"Just try me."

So I start reading the lines that aren't Mewes'... and Mewes starts doing his lines without a script.

I was like, "That's pretty good."

We keep going, and he knows everything.

"Did you memorize all your lines?"

"Everybody else's too."

"Bullshit!"

"Try me."

So I read Mewes' lines and he reads everybody else's lines. Without a fucking script.

And I'm like, "What the fuck, what are you, Rain Man? What the fuck happened, dude? Why did you suddenly become a genius?"

"I don't want to piss off that Rickman dude."

posted by radwolf76 at 6:44 AM on January 14, 2016 [198 favorites]

Somewhere I have a copy of Perfume that I picked up at a video store's closeout sale, in which Rickman plays a key non-villanous role. I've never watched it, despite having read the novel from which it was adapted. Now it's time.
posted by Gelatin at 6:47 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Now he really won't say that stupid line one more time.
posted by Rob Rockets at 6:48 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

.
posted by tuesdayschild at 6:49 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by vespertine at 6:51 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by humanfont at 6:52 AM on January 14, 2016

"I don't want to piss off that Rickman dude."

HA!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing that story. :)
posted by zarq at 6:53 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

A thought for his longtime love Rima Horton.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:53 AM on January 14, 2016 [13 favorites]

.
posted by Samarium at 6:53 AM on January 14, 2016

.

It's the fucking Rapture or some shit. All the coolest people are being selectively removed from Earth one by one to spare them the horrors to come.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:54 AM on January 14, 2016 [16 favorites]

.
posted by saulgoodman at 6:54 AM on January 14, 2016

Colonel Brandon is my everything.

But since I haven't seen one other movie mentioned here yet-- please check out Bottle Shock if you haven't already. He is so excellent at playing the baffled snob who is unwillingly allied with dirty California hippies (one of whom is played by Chris Pine, ha).
posted by a fiendish thingy at 6:55 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

.

What the fuck, 2016.
posted by mstokes650 at 6:55 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I made him sign it and I have it my possession.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 6:56 AM on January 14, 2016 [33 favorites]

.
posted by djseafood at 6:57 AM on January 14, 2016

ENOUGH ALREADY!

Fuck you cancer. And fuck 2016.


.
posted by blurker at 6:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

.

Let me kniw when it's February. I will be in bed until then, under a lot of covers.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:58 AM on January 14, 2016

one of my favorite movies, weirdly and inexplicably, is the British Hairdressing Championship classic film Blow Dry. it's one of those movies where I laugh awkwardly when I tell people about it while saying 'it's not a great movie' but my eyes are saying it is a great movie and everyone else is a fool, similar to, for example, Strictly Ballroom, but like a decade newer.

I've loved Rickman in pretty much every movie I've ever seen him in but for whatever reason that remains one of my favorites and indicative of both my fondness for weird little films like this and for actors who choose to be in them while they could be doing other, bigger things. this was shitty news to wake up to.
posted by suddenly, and without warning, at 6:58 AM on January 14, 2016 [19 favorites]

GOD. This news just keeps getting better. My wife and I just caught the movie he did about CBGB on Netflix and I found myself once again wondering how he managed to throw himself into these roles so fully.

My cousin is like the worlds biggest Bowie fan and I am certain she is in mourning. Hope to god she isn't a Rickman fan as well, because she really will not be able to handle it on top of losing her idol.

Cancer is an asshole.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:01 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

BLOW DRY IS GREAT.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 7:01 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

one of my favorite movies, weirdly and inexplicably, is the British Hairdressing Championship classic film Blow Dry.

It is the tattoo of scissors on the sole of his character's foot that did me in.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 7:01 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

I came here for "By Grabthar's Hammer". I was not disappointed.

Thanks, Metafilter, for letting all of us have this space to share our fond memories of these people and the joy they brought to our lives.
posted by math at 7:02 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

His Metatron in "Dogma" is the best thing about that movie.
Although Alanis Morissette as God was a pretty brilliant piece of casting.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:02 AM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

.
posted by Small Dollar at 7:03 AM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by foodbedgospel at 7:04 AM on January 14, 2016

(I flubbed up on his year of birth. Can a mod change it to 1946 please? I'm so sorry.)
posted by divabat at 7:04 AM on January 14, 2016

Here's to Rickman. May this exceptional thief be forever sitting on a beach, earning twenty percent.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

.
posted by The Bellman at 7:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Sometimes this "." isn't enough, but it's all I got this morning.
posted by squeak at 7:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Such sad news. Such as awesome and versatile performer. 2016 needs to just stop with the dying artists and geniuses, please.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 7:06 AM on January 14, 2016

Mod note: Birth year changed
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:06 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

For fuck's sake, I'm calling a mulligan on 2016.
.
posted by murphy slaw at 7:08 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

.
This was a shock. This one got to me. Am sitting at work all choked up. DAMN 2016, FUCK cancer and JESUS 69 is young.

I think I first appreciated Alan Rickman in Robin Hood, though I was more of a Will Scarlet girl at the time. Apparently he was persuaded to take the role by being allowed to personalise it. Then I must have watched Truly Madly on a loop for about a year, BAWLING every time. Plus I used to saw at the cello and so was doubly struck by the role. Went off the film later for its Grauniadness but might have to go back to it. And Dogma! And Close My Eyes where you're actually thinking what on earth does HIS wife see in Clive Owen. And Sweeney Todd, Sense and Sensibility, and so much else.

BUGGER THIS. ("I blame the government." "What's the government got to do with anything?" "I hate the bastards.")

And now I'm reading how much he was a total sweetie and a proper leftie in real life, which you could totally tell. And DAMN he played Valmont with Lindsay Duncan and Anthony with Helen Mirren? JUST IMAGINE SEEING THAT LIVE.

Hope he gets his wings back.
posted by runincircles at 7:10 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

.
posted by domo at 7:10 AM on January 14, 2016

DEATH

STAHP

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posted by Pope Guilty at 7:11 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

.
posted by colie at 7:11 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by aerotive at 7:11 AM on January 14, 2016

The first Alan Rickman film I ever saw was Closet Land, and I didn't realize he was in it until a few minutes ago. That was not an easy film to watch, but I'm glad he worked on it.
posted by Radiophonic Oddity at 7:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

"Grahnd Piahnow . . . "*


--------------------------------------
* That's Alan Rickman as Master of Ceremonies on "The Bell", the finale to Michael Oldfield's Tubular Bells II.
Here's the original with MC Viv Stanshall.
And here's the inspiration for the original, also with MC Viv Stanshall.
 
posted by Herodios at 7:13 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

.
posted by soelo at 7:13 AM on January 14, 2016

And here I am at the crack of dawn thinking, "I should check Metafilter, I bet there's something new up on it."

January is the shittiest month of the year. I vote we eliminate it and skip straight on to February. Or heck with it, March.

I think I'm gonna run out of favorites in this thread.

(Yeah, seriously, someone check on Tim Curry.)
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Mr. Rickman reads "If Death Is Not The End."
posted by zerbinetta at 7:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

Ugh. Fuck you 2016. I'm going back to bed. :-(
posted by dorkydancer at 7:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

.
posted by brilliantmistake at 7:15 AM on January 14, 2016

*Shakes fist at heavens*, shouts, "Wasn't f-in Bowie enough for you? You took SNAPE? Nooooooooooooo, it can't be!"

RIP, man, you were my favorite movie villain ever.
posted by Lynsey at 7:15 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Oh, a dreadful loss of a wonderful gifted artist. Classed up every joint he was ever in. Of all his epic and unforgettable moments, this is the one I've been repeatedly inserting into ordinary conversation for 30 years (and nobody ever fucking gets it! What the hell?!). The benefits of a classical education.
posted by FelliniBlank at 7:17 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

Arg.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:18 AM on January 14, 2016

.

Also yes! Blow Dry was a lovely little film.
posted by R343L at 7:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

The first time I noticed and started following Alan Rickman as an actor was after seeing him play Tybalt in 1978's Romeo and Juliet. He was so delightfully evil and fun to watch despite his Vulcan haircut. I just looked up the production on IMDB and that was his first TV or movie role ever! He just had something from the beginning that made him fascinating to watch.
posted by Alison at 7:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

.
Wow, 2016, you're on a roll. This is some news to wake up to.
posted by Neronomius at 7:20 AM on January 14, 2016

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. My thoughts are with Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:23 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

.
[Sigh]
posted by chapps at 7:23 AM on January 14, 2016

zerbinetta: Mr. Rickman reads "If Death Is Not The End."

If someone could take the echo off of that, I would be one grateful -- sad albeit grateful -- fellow.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:24 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

.

Col. Brandon was the definitive role for me. *snf*
posted by Quasirandom at 7:27 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Good morning. Listen. It's going to be that kind of week.
Surround yourself with the work they left behind.
The work's not going anywhere.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [12 favorites]

Rickman and Bowie were both 69. Tim Curry is also 69. Someone wrap him in bubble wrap please.
posted by desjardins at 7:28 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

.
posted by Stynxno at 7:28 AM on January 14, 2016

Famous people always die in January and February!

If you're a 69 year old male in the arts and it's January, i'd be worried.
posted by ihaveyourfoot at 7:29 AM on January 14, 2016

And reading through the thread is reminding me of so many glorious moments. Marvin!

there was an immense humanism beneath this and his other disdain-laden characters - THIS. Whole comment flagged as fantastic.

And if anyone hasn't seen Something the Lord Made, plz rectify that now. It's on YouTube even. A fabulous pairing.

It might sound silly, but after a site was put up where people could send appreciation to Iain Banks, and I didn't get round to it, I thought right! but didn't get round to it for Pterry either. So now am going to send total fan letters to like, David Attenborough, Dervla Murphy, Jan Morris, everyone else I can think of. And tell your family and friends you love them, everybody!
posted by runincircles at 7:32 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

.
posted by jlbartosa at 7:33 AM on January 14, 2016

If you're a 69 year old male in the arts and it's January, i'd be worried.

Plus, if you were at any time awesome.
posted by Mezentian at 7:35 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Desjardins: Rickman and Bowie were both 69. Tim Curry is also 69. Someone wrap him in bubble wrap please.

Sorry, it's the law in the UK. Benny Hill only lived to 68 due to clerical error.

.
posted by dr_dank at 7:40 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

.
posted by tonycpsu at 7:42 AM on January 14, 2016

Colonel Brandon :( :( :(

and also the Metatron; that movie was pretty uneven but he was great in it.

I care not at all for Die Hard or Potter movies, but he was always enjoyable on the screen.
posted by emjaybee at 7:43 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

No no no. What is this. Our performers, our very best and most charismatic performers.

They must be putting together one hell of a stage production in the afterlife and just be all hands on deck. That's all I can tell myself right now.

2016 has really been a rough one so far, hasn't it.

.
posted by town of cats at 7:45 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Benny Hill only lived to 68 due to clerical error.

All that time in fast-forward counted against him.
posted by Etrigan at 7:47 AM on January 14, 2016 [24 favorites]

But my introduction to Rickman was through Kevin Costner's Robin Hood. Which, yes, is a TERRIBLE movie (unless, ahem, you're a 14 year-old girl, in which case it is PERFECT).

I was 16. Can confirm.
posted by desjardins at 7:49 AM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

.

may he rest easy by the suns of Warvan.
posted by numaner at 7:52 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

.
posted by Lafe at 7:53 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by brennen at 7:57 AM on January 14, 2016

Too many, too soon. Just chiming in to nth the "fuck cancer" sentiments. Lost my SO Friday last to pancreatic at age 57. Leaves a hole that will scar over but never heal.

°
posted by Standeck at 7:57 AM on January 14, 2016 [37 favorites]

I constantly quote The Metatron whenever something annoys me.

"It never ends."

Seems so appropriate today.
posted by blurker at 7:58 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Standeck, I'm so sorry.
posted by allthinky at 7:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

My condolences, Standeck.
posted by blurker at 7:59 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

.
posted by immlass at 7:59 AM on January 14, 2016

Standeck, I'm so sorry. We lost a pet to cancer last week and I'm really fucking sick of cancer.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:00 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Standeck.
posted by Gelatin at 8:00 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Damn. Fuck. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.....
posted by chance at 8:00 AM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by paulus andronicus at 8:00 AM on January 14, 2016

Snow Cake, while not as big as a lot of his other films, was a good showcase for his acting abilities.
posted by ODiV at 8:01 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

<3 Standeck
posted by divabat at 8:01 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Like Mezentian said, the tea time ourobouros posted is indeed EPIC.
posted by numaner at 8:02 AM on January 14, 2016

.

I love Die Hard as a movie and Hans as a character.

I'm picturing him on a metaphysical beach earning twenty percent.
posted by Sphinx at 8:03 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

Fuck this week, indeed.

I guess I'd like to revise my pony request by one year.

Saw Rickman on Broadway a few years ago. Amazing grip.
posted by rokusan at 8:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

the list of actors and actresses born in 1946 contains a lot of names I would like to stay alive.
posted by numaner at 8:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

.
posted by pt68 at 8:05 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by AFII at 8:05 AM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by sharp pointy objects at 8:12 AM on January 14, 2016

I saw "Truly, Madly, Deeply" shortly after my mother died. I had no idea what I was walking into. Cried constantly. Now he really is dead. He needs to return to help us move on.
posted by pashdown at 8:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by Seboshin at 8:14 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Splunge at 8:14 AM on January 14, 2016

the list of actors and actresses born in 1946 contains a lot of names I would like to stay alive

Sylvester Stallone? Although he would look the same pre- and post-death.
posted by ihaveyourfoot at 8:16 AM on January 14, 2016

Hmm, Numaner, Donald Trump is on that list. . . otherwise, what a great year!
posted by peppermind at 8:16 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Please wrap Andy Partridge, Albert Finney & Keith Richards in bubble wrap & keep them from wandering out into the streets for the next couple weeks.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

.
posted by norabelle at 8:19 AM on January 14, 2016

the list of actors and actresses born in 1946 contains a lot of names I would like to stay alive

looking at that list could we PLEASE get a posse over to Dolly Parton's house QUICK. Form a cordon, whack anything with a robe.
posted by runincircles at 8:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

via Daniel Radcliffe: Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I've ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I'm pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn't have to do that. I know other people who've been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say "if you call Alan, it doesn't matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he's doing, he'll get back to you within a day".

People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner(or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny. And certain things obviously became even funnier when delivered in his unmistakable double-bass.

As an actor he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 8:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [63 favorites]

What a fucking giant.

.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:27 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by a lungful of dragon at 8:27 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by dlugoczaj at 8:28 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Iridic at 8:37 AM on January 14, 2016

This is no good. A friend of mine was in Galaxy Quest (which is one of those movies that I will watch literally every time I come across it, no questions asked) and has nothing but effusively good things to say about Rickman's kindness and generosity to everyone.

When I was a teenager, after watching some movie, I turned to my mom and confessed that I thought Alan Rickman was pretty sexy. She smiled wickedly and said, "me, too." I was mildly horrified at the time that I had a crush on the same actor as my mother (it was the first time that had happened), but now it makes me smile.

RIP, sir. Your awesomeness transcends generations.
posted by ilana at 8:38 AM on January 14, 2016 [32 favorites]

.

Hate this fucking week and tired of 2016. Sigh. I love Die Hard to pieces and Rickman's role in it. Plus Galaxy Quest is an amazing movie, one of my favorites. My condolences to his family. I'm very sad I never got to see him on stage and now I never will. He was one of the most compelling actors I've ever seen - stealing the show in pretty much every movie I've seen with him in it. RIP Alan, the world is poorer without you.
posted by FireFountain at 8:40 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Just showing Lemmy was always ahead of the curve.
posted by symbioid at 8:44 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Oh god. I had forgotten about Galaxy Quest. By Grabthar's Hammer, by the suns of Worvan, you shall be avenged missed deeply, Alan!
posted by nubs at 8:45 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Nope nope now. Going back to bed. When I wake up, this week will reset.

There's not enough "." In the world to respond to this news.
posted by Joey Michaels at 8:45 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by strixus at 8:47 AM on January 14, 2016

Faint of Butt that is pretty much what I said on FB this morning when I heard this terrible news: a strange rapture is sucking up our heroes and icons. no more please.

I saw Die Hard in the theater in 1988 and I've been a committed fan ever since. My annual viewing of my favorite xmas movie will never be the same. Yippy Ki-Yay RIP

My mom is 69 too :(
posted by supermedusa at 9:01 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by PROD_TPSL at 9:03 AM on January 14, 2016

seriously though it's been a real rough week for sexy older Englishmen.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:04 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by faceplantingcheetah at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2016

He's demanding McClane hand over the detonators with the angels now.

They are all big fans and couldn't resist asking him to do a few scenes.
posted by ckape at 9:07 AM on January 14, 2016

Maybe we've already had our third "English actor dies of cancer" this week?
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:12 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Looking on the bright side of this "dead at 69" confluence, I'm taking a moment to reflect on how many totally amazing performers Britain turned out in 1945-46.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 9:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by eclectist at 9:14 AM on January 14, 2016

RIP to the voice of God. Still a big fan of Rickman's work in Snow Cake though that one is a real wrist-slitter. My wife has a serious obsession with Rickman. There's a massive Severus Snape poster in our Harry Potter themed bedroom (yes, we're nerds, why do you ask?). She insists that Rickman's narration at the beginning of Bottle Shock is one of the sexiest things ever recorded.

I am still awestruck at his range: rom-coms, comedy, science fiction/fantasy. drama, theater, and on and on. Big films, small films, acting, directing. This is a huge loss folks, one of those renaissance persons that only comes around once in a while. Farewell Hans, Alexander, Metatron, and Severus, you filled us with such joy.
posted by Ber at 9:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

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posted by of strange foe at 9:18 AM on January 14, 2016

town of cats: They must be putting together one hell of a stage production in the afterlife and just be all hands on deck.

With Rickman, who has already played Metatron, and Sir Terry, who co-wrote the book, plus Lemmy to be…well, Lemmy -- all on hand now, I am pretty sure they are staging "Good Omens" somewhere Up There.

After the BBC's rather nice audio-only production last year (see here), I suppose that They enjoyed the effort but They want to recruit some card-carrying non-mortals and do it up properly.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [8 favorites]

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posted by disclaimer at 9:20 AM on January 14, 2016

(Between motion capture, green screens, and that software that recreated Roger Ebert's voice from recorded conversation, I can just feel how close we are to being able to create movies that include our favorite departed stars. And once we can, they will be mostly commercial, possibly creepy, but occasionally wonderful.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

She insists that Rickman's narration at the beginning of Bottle Shock is one of the sexiest things ever recorded.

I convinced my wife - who generally detests action films - to watch Die Hard one night because Alan Rickman was in it. Well, it wasn't really me convincing her, just me flapping my gums a bit about Die Hard and happening to mention Alan Rickman was in it, and then she was keen to watch.

She loves that man's voice.
posted by nubs at 9:21 AM on January 14, 2016

I'm taking a moment to reflect on how many totally amazing performers Britain turned out in 1945-46.

I suspect growing up in PTSD Britain provided the sort of rough surface you need to bump against to develop both strength of character and a monumental work ethic.

While I am glad that cancer treatment has reached a stage of sophistication that it is now possible in some cases to undergo without being immediately obvious to the average passerby, I wish Science would hurry the fuck up past this "surprise death" stage.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:22 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

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posted by mbrubeck at 9:22 AM on January 14, 2016

welp, apparently my new hobby is having minor heart palpitations whenever i see a beloved older british man's name in a headline. thanks for letting me know that elton john covered a bowie song last night, google news, but please consider adding some sort of NOT DEAD YET flag to these things okay thanks
posted by palomar at 9:25 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

Alan Rickman has always been one of my most favorite actors, and the delight of finding out he was cast as Snape in HP was immeasurable. Going through some rather morbid times lately while also re-listening to the HP audiobooks yet again, after an xmas HP marathon, I was thinking what a loss it would be to the world should he pass before a very old age.

This one will stick with me for quite a while.

.
posted by lizbunny at 9:25 AM on January 14, 2016

Yes, while I didn't know anything of Brian Bedford's other work, the fact that his was the voice of Disney's Robin Hood made me realize that we were losing Brits with incredible voices.
posted by PussKillian at 9:26 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Nobody is taking this news harder than Det. Jake Peralta.

Fuck this week. Nay, fuck this year. NEW YEAR, I TRUSTED YOU! You were supposed to be better!
posted by Rhomboid at 9:26 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I'm also trying to think what Rickman I find most iconic. I mean, the Rickman line most quoted in the house is "dull spoon" despite the fact that I haven't seen that movie for eons.
posted by PussKillian at 9:27 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

I really enjoyed watching Alan Rickman in the BBC/PBS production of The Song of Lunch. It was a funny little one-off television adaptation of a poem by Christopher Reid that ran here in the United States on Masterpiece in 2010. In it, Rickman plays a sad book editor who unsuccessfully tries to woo back his former lover, played by Emma Thompson. The entire thing was simultaneously sad, hilarious, and brilliant in a way that would only be possible with two amazing actors. He'll definitely be missed.
posted by fremen at 9:32 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

I have often said that Rickman was acting in an entirely different movie than everyone else in Prince of Thieves. I really wanted to see THAT film, it seemed way more interesting. And now I'll never get a chance.

Also, his performance as Dr Lazarus deriving the emotions of the rock creature is one of the best things in Galaxy Quest and worth the price of admission alone. One of the great ones.

(Plus, I say "It's Christmas, Theo, it's the time of miracles" a lot more often than is probably healthy. Hans Gruber will never go out of style.)

.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:36 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

Ian McKellen: There is so much that is matchless to remember about Alan Rickman. His career was at the highest level, as actor on stage and screen and as director ditto. His last bequest of his film “A Little Chaos” and his indelible performance as Louis 14th, should now reach the wider audience they deserve.

Beyond a career which the world is indebted to, he was a constant agent for helping others. Whether to institutions like RADA or to individuals and certainly to me, his advice was always spot-on. He put liberal philanthropy at the heart of his life. He and Rima Horton (50 years together) were always top of my dream-list dinner guests. Alan would by turns be hilarious and indignant and gossipy and generous. All this delivered sotto, in that convoluted voice, as distinctive as Edith Evans, John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, Alec Guinness, Alastair Sim or Bowie, company beyond compare.

When he played Rasputin, I was the Tzar Nicholas. Filming had started before I arrived in St Petersburg. Precisely as I walked into the hotel-room, the phone rang. Alan, to say welcome, hope the flight was tolerable and would I like to join him and Greta Scacchi and others in the restaurant in 30 minutes? Alan, the concerned leading man. On that film, he discovered that the local Russian crew was getting an even worse lunch than the rest of us. So he successfully protested. On my first day before the camera, he didn’t like the patronising, bullying tone of a note which the director gave me. Alan, seeing I was a little crestfallen, delivered a quiet, concise resumé of my career and loudly demanded that the director up his game.

Behind his starry insouciance and careless elegance, behind that mournful face, which was just as beautiful when wracked with mirth, there was a super-active spirit, questing and achieving, a super-hero, unassuming but deadly effective.

I so wish he’d played King Lear and a few other classical challenges but that’s to be greedy. He leaves a multitude of fans and friends, grateful and bereft.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 9:38 AM on January 14, 2016 [54 favorites]

The first movie I saw Alan Rickman in, apart from Die Hard, was Closet Land, a film that was more like a play and included only Rickman and Madeline Stowe and an incredible stage/set. Rickman was mesmerizing. I'd never seen an actor manage to be both so menacing and seductive at the same time. He was an amazing actor, and I'm deeply sorry he's died too soon, though I'm grateful we have so much of his work to keep company. Cold comfort.

.
posted by but no cigar at 9:39 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

I had forgotten all about Bottle Shock. I remember a reviewer at the time praising a scene where Rickman's character tastes guacamole for the first time. Such a lovely expression of bliss.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 9:40 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

This is not ok.
posted by dotgirl at 9:45 AM on January 14, 2016

Those memories from McKellen and Radcliffe are wonderful. Rickman was a class act, and so are they.
posted by Gelatin at 9:47 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by skye.dancer at 9:47 AM on January 14, 2016

Alan Rickman's most evil role and heaviest, deepest character acting is found (decidedly) in Closet Land.

Warning: That movie is psychologically fucked up.
posted by loquacious at 9:50 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Can we activate the Omega-13 and restart this year? Please?
posted by mogget at 9:51 AM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

SHUT UP, YOU TWIT

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posted by Soliloquy at 10:05 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye.

What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom, and kindness. His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word.

That intransigence which made him the great artist that he was — his inedible and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him.

He was the finest of actors and directors. I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do with his face next. I consider myself hugely privileged to have worked with him so many times and to have been directed by him.

He was the ultimate ally. In like, art and politics. I trusted him absolutely.

He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 10:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [18 favorites]

Just re-watched part of Galaxy Quest, thank you, Netflix. Rickman was an incredibly talented actor. 1st movie of his I remember is Truly, Madly, Deeply, with Juliet Stephenson. He was so good. I'm so sorry not to have more work coming from him.

.
posted by theora55 at 10:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by cass at 10:21 AM on January 14, 2016

.

dammit
posted by annsunny at 10:26 AM on January 14, 2016

Fuck this week, man.

.
posted by stennieville at 10:32 AM on January 14, 2016

Oooh, someone on Twitter pointed out that both David Bowie and Alan Rickman are examples of working-class entertainers from "a postwar class mobility that's almost vanished." How true.
posted by Kitteh at 10:32 AM on January 14, 2016 [21 favorites]

We won't ever get to hear anything new in that beautiful voice, ever again.
.
posted by Elly Vortex at 10:35 AM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

The topic of Alan Rickman usually reminds me, nowadays, QI, Rickman's friend John Sessions offers his impression of Hans Gruber, as well as revealing the secret to doing Alan Rickman impressions: don't let your lips touch your teeth. (SLYT cued to the relevant bit, but watch the whole thing, 3 minutes)
posted by Sunburnt at 10:47 AM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

Oh, this hurts.
posted by percolatrix at 11:00 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by moira at 11:01 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Cpt. The Mango at 11:14 AM on January 14, 2016

R.I.P. Mr Rickman.

My very slight encounter with him goes as follows. I had wandered into a Soho shoe store during a weekday lunch break and was the only customer in the store. I heard someone enter while I was debating about leaving and looked over. It was Alan Rickman!! Now, I firmly decided to stay but not be too conspicuous in my fanworship. Like a cartoon, I kept inching closer and closer in order to hear his dulcet tones but curses! he was talking too low. I didn't want to appear to be a creeper so I left after a couple of minutes and stood out on the street gushing on the phone to my BFF about my encounter and of course just as he walked past I squealed, "It was Alan Rickman!!!!" He side-eyed me and kept on walking. I will always cherish the fact that although I didn't get to hear his gorgeous voice in person, that I was the recipient of one his signature looks.
posted by nikitabot at 11:14 AM on January 14, 2016 [22 favorites]

He finally reached the bottom of Yakatomi Plaza

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posted by gaspode at 11:18 AM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

God. God god god.

It's like someone's shoved an excruciatingly dull spoon right in my chest.

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posted by mikurski at 11:19 AM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

I saw him Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Broadway in the late '80's. He had such presence and power. Totally stole the show.

The same season at the RSC as his widely praised Valmont, he was also the absolutely bar-none bloody definitive Jaques in As You Like It. His virtuosic delivery of the play's most famous speech was utterly riveting, grounded in the scene and the character yet also effortlessly soaring as only the best actors can with Shakespeare's verse:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts{...}

posted by Doktor Zed at 11:26 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

Shortly before my due date, I awoke at 4 a.m. with another of those stupid fake contractions. By 7 a.m., they hadn't gone away, so we both called out of work. By about 1 p.m., they had stopped, but I would be dammed if I were going in to work the next day. The Internet recommended not laughing too hard to stop labor, so we picked out the funniest movie ever: Glaxy Quest, which we of course had a copy. An hour after the movie ended, we were on our way to the hospital.

Thank you Mr. Rickman. The kid would have been born without your fabulous performance, but you made it much more pleasant.
posted by JawnBigboote at 11:30 AM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

o7

Apart from his achievements as an actor (his role as Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins remains my favorite), Mr Rickman apparently also played Eve Online. And not only did he play Eve, but he flew with Rooks & Kings, a pretty elite group known for their innovative tactics. So o7 to you, fellow capsuleer, and I hope someday to see you among the stars.
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 11:31 AM on January 14, 2016 [25 favorites]

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posted by fraula at 11:42 AM on January 14, 2016

(Nutmeg, is your "o7" a salute? That's awesome.)
posted by wenestvedt at 11:43 AM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

What does this say for the year to come? Who next?

There must be an almighty show being planned in Heaven right now.

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posted by HypotheticalWoman at 11:44 AM on January 14, 2016

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posted by one teak forest at 11:49 AM on January 14, 2016

Mr Rickman apparently also played Eve Online. And not only did he play Eve, but he flew with Rooks & Kings, a pretty elite group known for their innovative tactics.

Ye gods, I may have to log on again to see what kind of tribute they throw. It'd be worth losing a clone in nullsec for.
posted by Gelatin at 11:52 AM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

Well I hope this year is simply in the process of quickly checking off the good ones, so that afterwards we can relax for a while.

Otherwise I don't even.

-- "Are you really leaving all your fans alone like this, on a bloody cold January day of friggin'-not-even-really-yet-2016?"

-- [Rickman voice] "obviously."

-- "Is there really nothing that can make you change your mind?"

-- [Rickman voice] "you have not been paying-- attEN-Tion. I'm gone."

-- (whimpers)
posted by Namlit at 11:55 AM on January 14, 2016 [4 favorites]

The Atlantic in-depth: Alan Rickman's Extraordinary Legacy
posted by tzikeh at 12:01 PM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

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posted by Kevin Street at 12:04 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by djeo at 12:08 PM on January 14, 2016

If I'd known that Rickman played Eve, that would have gotten me in.

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posted by Halloween Jack at 12:23 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Adding my .
This stinks.
posted by NorthernLite at 12:26 PM on January 14, 2016

Sincere condolences, Standeck.
posted by dbiedny at 12:32 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Ravneson at 12:41 PM on January 14, 2016

I have loved this for quite some time.

Rickman reads Proust, on death.
posted by markkraft at 12:41 PM on January 14, 2016 [10 favorites]

Whenever I needed a little extra push to go out and face the day, I would cue up a youtube clip of "Dr. Lazarus comforting a dying Twilek" from Galaxy Quest. Occasionally I would vary it up and watch "Night's Watch tunnel crew against the Giant" or something else, but 90% of my pick-me-up courage doses have been Alan Rickman.

And when you see the outpouring of genuine grief and heartfelt writing in this thread, it makes you forget all the annoying things about Metafilter and its members, and remind you why this is your home on the internet.
posted by seasparrow at 12:58 PM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

I first saw him in Closet Land and I have loved him ever since. I will miss him so much.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:11 PM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

I know other people have mentioned Col. Brandon, but seriously, Col. Brandon. The wounded dignity that Alan Rickman brings to the part is amazing, the way that he plays a man whose best virtues are mocked by his love in immaturity but are recognized and rewarded in time. Another actor might have played a certain modern creepiness in Brandon's pursuit of Marianne, but Rickman finds such a quiet and unswerving faith, making his affections a rock to which Marianne may retire through her own agency, making himself a bulwark against slings and arrows. He and Emma Thompson as Elinor have such a wonderful, sad understanding between them; if ever there were platonic soulmates on film, they're it. Alan Rickman mastered every single tool in the actor's repertoire, and more than that, we're fortunate enough to have so many roles on film where he uses each one to the fullest. And then he was, as we all hope our luminaries will be, a kind, funny, generous, and passionate person in his personal life. All things must pass and I'm very grateful for the legacy of his art and its impact on my life, but I am very selfishly sad today. I'll miss him.
posted by Errant at 1:13 PM on January 14, 2016 [25 favorites]

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posted by w0mbat at 1:21 PM on January 14, 2016

Just realized I'll still be reminded of him every day because I have a print of this poster at the bottom of my stairs. New challenge: try to convince my hormonal, pregnant, sick-with-a-cold-all-week brain not to burst into tears when I walk in and see it today after work. Sigh.
posted by town of cats at 1:27 PM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

I actually have the published version of the screenplay for Sense and Sensibility, but I have way more fun reading Emma Thompson's production diary because it is pretty much proof that Alan Rickman was, in real life, exactly the way you always pictured he was. Two of the anecdotes that stick out -

* Emma and Alan were about to shoot a scene and were standing around while the crew fixed the lights or something. And suddenly Emma blurted out, without thinking - "oh, hey, I just ovulated, I just felt it." And after a very long pause, Alan finally just said, "....thank you for sharing that."

* The cast were all holed up in the same hotel in one location, and all took to hanging out in the hotel's bar at night. One night, a cat wandered in, and the whole rest of the cast flipped out over it, making kissy noises to lure it over and scratching its head and cooing over it, and the cat was wandering from person to person soaking in the admiration. But when it walked up to Alan, he just looked down at it, looked it in the eye, and told it, "Fuck off." and went back to his pint.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:30 PM on January 14, 2016 [22 favorites]

town of cats, where did you get that poster?!?!?!?!
posted by epersonae at 1:30 PM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood in the HP movies) posted a lovely tribute.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:38 PM on January 14, 2016 [11 favorites]

.

It's not enough, it's never enough. But it'll have to do and when I get home I can cry.
posted by cooker girl at 1:41 PM on January 14, 2016

Gabriel Kahane's mindblowingly great album The Ambassador includes Villains (4616 Dundee Dr.) for Thom Anderson, a meditation on LA's relationship with property and movies and villains, and it includes the lyric "Back then Bruce Willis had some hair / He smoked in airports, no one cared / And in the end Alan Rickman / Fell out of a window, boo hoo!" (It's not the only time Die Hard is referenced on the album, but then, it is an album all about Los Angeles.)
posted by hippybear at 1:44 PM on January 14, 2016

what the hell is charisma carcinogenic or something?

.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 1:51 PM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm going to need time to process this.
posted by echocollate at 1:57 PM on January 14, 2016

Alan Rickman did a reading of one of Robyn Hitchcock's poems, "If Death is Not the End" for Robyn's 50th birthday celebration / concert in London. It was previously quite a rare and raw recording of dubious sound quality which I have shared with friends over the years, but Robyn has honored Alan by sharing an improved version of it, which you should all listen to, immediately... it's that good.
posted by markkraft at 2:08 PM on January 14, 2016 [9 favorites]

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posted by psolo at 2:11 PM on January 14, 2016

Dangit, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves just left Netflix instant? When I finally want to watch it again? (Shout out to all the other gals who were teens when it came out!)
posted by epersonae at 2:21 PM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:24 PM on January 14, 2016

epersonae, it was a really well-targeted gift from my husband. Artist is the very awesome Justin van Genderen.
posted by town of cats at 2:29 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by get off of my cloud at 2:32 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Doc Ezra at 2:42 PM on January 14, 2016

.
posted by DancingYear at 2:45 PM on January 14, 2016

GALAXY QUEST was on last week and I was just commenting to my partner that there is not a SINGLE scene that includes Rickman in that movie in which he is not hysterically funny. Every single frame. His reaction shots are priceless.

I burst into tears on hearing the news. He still seemed so promising despite being a fully grown man. That he could embody dignity, comedy, tragedy, and forsaken love so fully was just a gift to his fans.
posted by mynameisluka at 2:51 PM on January 14, 2016 [5 favorites]

Donald trump is 69. Just sayin'
posted by adept256 at 2:55 PM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:04 PM on January 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

yeah Trump as Snape. What next? ("And I tell you it's not a wig")
posted by Namlit at 3:06 PM on January 14, 2016

No silly wand-waving in HIS government
posted by Namlit at 3:06 PM on January 14, 2016

Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood) remembers her fear of Snape and a later encounter with Rickman.
posted by wintersweet at 3:32 PM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

Truly, Madly, Deeply always made me sob. I don't think I can ever watch it again.

Farewell Hans Gruber, Jamie, The Interrogator, Sheriff of Nottingham, Colonel Brandon, Rasputin, Detective Friedman, Metatron, Alexander Dane, Phil Allen, Harry, Marvin, Richis and Severus Snape.
posted by crossoverman at 3:34 PM on January 14, 2016

Fuck. This is really sad. Another great one dying of cancer at 69. Goddamnit.

The last movie I saw him in was A Little Chaos, a period piece which he directed and in which played King Louis XIV. I loved what he said about juggling both roles:

In addition to directing, you play Louis XIV. How did you juggle those responsibilities?
I don’t know how people do it. Ralph Fiennes is a very good friend. I don’t know how he did Invisible Woman. I’m not saying one shouldn’t, but I don’t know how it’s done. It’s really hard to switch. The only way I could do it was because in a way, he’s like a director, Louis, so you kind of keep the same expression on your face. As a director, you see everything somehow. It’s like a huge all-encompassing eye that sees everything, and it’s able to cherry pick: “Move that,” “Don’t do that,” “Do it this way,” “Change this color.” And I don’t know where that comes from, but it does, once you’re given the job, and I have a feeling Louis probably would’ve been a great film director.

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posted by homunculus at 4:00 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by Purposeful Grimace at 4:01 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by MelanieL at 4:02 PM on January 14, 2016

DAMN IT.

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posted by sarcasticah at 4:08 PM on January 14, 2016

Dammit.
posted by xtian at 4:08 PM on January 14, 2016

town of cats -- thanks! I'm loving all those prints.
posted by epersonae at 4:10 PM on January 14, 2016

.


Another brilliantly kind, hellishly smart and talented human, gone too.
posted by vers at 4:12 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ok, so I went to the movies this afternoon and the first trailer was for Alice Through the Looking Glass and it starts with Rickman's voiceover and I totally teared up and sniffled my way through the eight zillion previews.
posted by TwoStride at 4:13 PM on January 14, 2016

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i am also one of those who discovered him in Truly, Madly, Deeply ... and that is how i have always remembered him.
posted by buffalo at 4:15 PM on January 14, 2016

.

Fuck cancer.

Excuse me, I have to go pray
posted by Cookiebastard at 4:21 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Wine tasting with Alan Rickman.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:39 PM on January 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

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posted by floweringjudas at 4:41 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by kjs4 at 4:46 PM on January 14, 2016

Well and truly: Fuck Cancer.

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posted by griffey at 4:48 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 4:49 PM on January 14, 2016

As a former Hogwarts headmaster, he will hopefully appear as a fully sentient, interactive portrait soon. I am not ready to accept a world without Rickman.
posted by apparently at 5:02 PM on January 14, 2016 [14 favorites]

Sad thing I learned today: Alan Rickman died.
Amazing thing I learned today: Alan Rickman flew for Rooks & Kings! I had never heard this before, and am delighted by it, even if this is a awful thread to learn it in.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 5:05 PM on January 14, 2016

As others have posted, Closetland was probably the first movie I saw him in - at least a very early and memorable film that I distinctly remember him for.
Man, this sucks.

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posted by foxhat10 at 5:07 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

This is so sad. Yet another amazing artist who took his work seriously, but did not take himself too seriously. What a loss for us. Galaxy Quest, Dogma, Sense & Sensibility--and I would give my eyeteeth to see him in his stage performance of Liaisons Dangereuses. I mean, yes, Malcolm MacDowell is a fine actor, but DAMN.

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posted by smirkette at 5:13 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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Because I cannot find the words to express how saddened I am.
posted by annieb at 5:27 PM on January 14, 2016

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May we all strive to be remembered as fondly as he, for both his body of work and his humanity. He took what could've been bog-standard roles and made them captivating.
posted by tautological at 5:43 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

Well there really is no bright side to this miserable week but at because of all of you there are several previously overlooked Alan Rickman movies and TV shows for me to watch watch and cry during so thanks everyone.
posted by WordCannon at 6:05 PM on January 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by gudrun at 6:42 PM on January 14, 2016

Someone just posted a new photo meme on Facebook - a picture of Alan as Snape, in full glower, with the caption "I'm going to a VERY exclusive David Bowie concert, and YOU'RE NOT."

And strangely I feel better.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:03 PM on January 14, 2016 [19 favorites]

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posted by cotton dress sock at 7:20 PM on January 14, 2016

“Why I cried when I heard about Alan Rickman….” Julie E. Richardson, Someone Stole My Coffee, 14 January 2016
posted by ob1quixote at 7:34 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by But tomorrow is another day... at 7:54 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by bitter-girl.com at 8:03 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by jbenben at 8:26 PM on January 14, 2016

Alan Rickman has never been bad in a role - only miscast.
posted by casarkos at 8:41 PM on January 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

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posted by lagomorph at 10:22 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by andraste at 10:39 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 11:24 PM on January 14, 2016

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posted by dannyboybell at 3:36 AM on January 15, 2016

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posted by Fibognocchi at 6:28 AM on January 15, 2016

Not sure if this has been posted yet:

Balder & Dash: Alan Rickman

Perhaps the sinewy sensuousness of his voice, made so startling when mixed with the clipped or elongated consonants, was why he was seen as so perfect for villains and sneering manipulators. But some of his best work was when playing men who ache with warmth, men with depths of tenderness. In those contexts, Rickman became a classical Leading Man, and the distinctive voice sounded instead like molten lava, exploding through the hard crust of his exterior. Rickman could be heartbreaking. He could fit in in a fantasy context, a real context, a 19th century context, a 20th/21st century context. His access to himself, to all aspects of himself, the cruel, the tender, his humor, his sexuality (or its repression), is why his career lasted 40 years, and why he was never out of work from the day he began.
posted by nubs at 8:36 AM on January 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

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posted by Ms. Moonlight at 9:03 AM on January 15, 2016

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posted by tarnish at 11:20 AM on January 15, 2016

[Tim] Curry is alive, but he had a disabling stroke a few years ago. I can't say how his health is doing, but the effects of his stroke are very visible and I gather he is a long way from performing. If the good wishes of his fans count for anything, he'll be struttin' the boards again soon.

Apparently the good wishes of Curry's fans counted for quite a lot, as it's just been announced that he will play the Criminologist in a new television production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:20 PM on January 15, 2016 [5 favorites]

"... if you noticed their name on a movie poster, you'd automatically think “I should see that movie?”

Yeah, me too. Now more than before.

Thing is, the longer I live, the more of them I must watch go. Seems like there ought to be a point to it, but I don't see one. Anyow, I don't seem to be getting used to it.

RIP, sir.

Fuck cancer.
posted by mule98J at 12:54 PM on January 15, 2016

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posted by PippinJack at 1:27 PM on January 15, 2016

Alan Rickman was my first movie star crush, even though I was in my early teens at the time and he was about 40 years older than me. But that voice! And Colonel Brandon! And that voice! Also, just his astounding ability to give life and depth to any character drew me in even if I didn't like the rest of the movie.

I just can't believe he's dead.

I only found about this tonight because I was away from internet access when the story first broke and traveling all day today, and my mother who is aware of my great love for Alan Rickman didn't want to break the news to me until I got back, so it hasn't even fully sunk in for me yet. I can't believe I'll never again be able to look forward to seeing him in a new movie.

I still haven't been able to bring myself to watch any Robin Williams movies since his death, especially two of my childhood favorites, Good Will Hunting and Dead Poet's Society, but there are so many Alan Rickman movies that I love. I wonder if and when I'll have it in me to watch them.

But I love him and his movies so much that at the same time, I really want to go re-watch all of them right this minute.

And now I just realized my plan to re-watch the Harry Potter movies in conjunction with the Fanfare Harry Potter club is either completely shot or just going to be exceedingly depressing. I'll probably never be able to watch the end of the final movie basically ever. Unless I'm feeling masochistic and want to cry for days in which case I'll just watch that plus Truly Madly Deeply and maybe the Dead Poet's Society and pretty much cry forever.

I'm rambling because I'm still kind of in shock and because I just find it hard to put into words how much I love and admire Alan Rickman's acting abilities and just him in general. By all accounts, he just was an amazingly talented and all around really wonderful human being. What a huge loss for his friends and families and movie watchers everywhere.
posted by litera scripta manet at 11:19 PM on January 15, 2016 [3 favorites]

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posted by avalonian at 11:26 PM on January 15, 2016

Remembering Alan Rickman’s pro-Palestinian play about Rachel Corrie, American activist crushed by Israeli bulldozer (Ben Norton at Salon.com)
posted by bukvich at 5:59 AM on January 16, 2016

Don't know if this has been linked to already: his last "performance", watch cos its ace and pass on!
posted by runincircles at 8:56 AM on January 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

And: The magnificent Juliet Stevenson talks about her friend on Newsnight. And NOW the lump I've had at the back of my throat is finally released into sobbing. Jesus.
posted by runincircles at 9:16 AM on January 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

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posted by Coaticass at 2:18 AM on January 17, 2016

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posted by obol at 12:12 PM on January 25, 2016

Just streamed The Butler last night and was surprised and impressed by Rickman's cameo as Ronald Reagan. (You read that correctly.)
posted by aught at 6:23 AM on January 26, 2016

This is hardly original — I stole it from a YouTube comment — and it seems insufficient given his many many roles, but still:

R.I.P. Alan Rickman, 1946 - Always.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:33 PM on January 26, 2016