| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Alice Through The Looking Glass was dedicated to his memory. |
| 2 | He has 69 credits as an actor. This is the same age when he died (69 years old). |
| 3 | His remains were cremated. |
| 4 | The seventieth Harry Potter film series cast member to die. He died a day before Roger Lloyd Pack's 2nd death anniversary, who also died from pancreatic cancer less than a month before his 70th birthday - just like Rickman. |
| 5 | Died 47 days before his 70th birthday. |
| 6 | In 1965, at the age of 19, Rickman met 18-year-old Rima Horton, who became his first girlfriend and would later be a Labour Party councillor on the Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council (1986-2006) and an economics lecturer at the nearby Kingston University. They lived together from 1977 until his death. In 2015, Rickman confirmed that they had married in a private ceremony in New York City in 2012. |
| 7 | Played the lead in Theresa Rebeck's play "Seminar". |
| 8 | Although he played the Vicomte de Valmont on the West End and Broadway in the West End and Broadway productions of Dangerous Liaisons, he was unable to reprise his role in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), as he chose Die Hard (1988) instead. John Malkovich replaced him. |
| 9 | Was considered for the role of Bennett in Last Action Hero (1993), but he was deemed too expensive. The role went to Charles Dance. When he found out about this, he wore a t-shirt saying "I'm cheaper than Alan Rickman". |
| 10 | Auditioned for the role of Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). |
| 11 | Appears in the music video of the song "In Demand" by the band Texas. |
| 12 | Turned down the role of Jennings in On Deadly Ground (1994). The role went to Michael Caine. |
| 13 | Was considered to play Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003). The role went to Jason Isaacs, with whom he co-stared in the Harry Potter movies. |
| 14 | Kevin Smith cast him in Dogma (1999) after he stated in an interview that Smith's Chasing Amy (1997) was one of his favourite movies of the year. Rickman's presence onset caused Jason Mewes, who was going through a drug problem at the time, to be on his best behaviour. He memorised not only his lines, but the entire script. In his own words, "I didn't want to piss off that Rickman dude". |
| 15 | Turned down the role of Alec Treveylan in GoldenEye (1995), because he was bored with playing villains. The role went to Sean Bean. |
| 16 | Was the first choice to play Sidney in Crimetime (1996), but the film's budget was too low to afford him. The role went to Pete Postlethwaite. |
| 17 | Two researchers, a linguist and a sound engineer, found "the perfect [male] voice" to be a combination of Rickman's and Jeremy Irons's voices based on a sample of 50 voices. |
| 18 | He married his girlfriend of 47 years Rima Horton in a private ceremony in New York. |
| 19 | The first film he ever saw was Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and the film that changed his life was Nashville (1975). |
| 20 | Worked with director Mike Newell twice: first in An Awfully Big Adventure (1995) and second in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). |
| 21 | Worked with director Alfonso Cuarón twice: first in Fallen Angels: Murder, Obliquely (1993) and second in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). |
| 22 | Parents are Bernard Rickman and Margaret Doreen Rose. |
| 23 | Has English, Irish and Welsh ancestry. |
| 24 | Did not start acting until he was twenty-eight. |
| 25 | During his time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he worked as a dresser for actors. |
| 26 | Attended the funeral of Natasha Richardson. |
| 27 | Voted #8 on Empire Online's list of 50 Sexiest Movie Men. 52% of readers voted that he should have been higher on the list. [October 2009] |
| 28 | Not long after he started to play Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), J.K. Rowling told Rickman some character secrets about Snape that would not be otherwise revealed until the last book. Most significantly, for over seven years, Rickman was one of the very few people other than Rowling to know that Snape had been in love with Lily Evans (later Potter) when they were students at Hogwarts, and both Snape's protection of and antagonism toward Harry came from that. Rowling said that she shared this information with Rickman because "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of [Lily's] preference for another man, came from." When the directors of the films would ask him why he was playing a scene a certain way, or delivering a line in a particular manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't. |
| 29 | Featured twice in Times Online's "The 50 Best Movie Villains" chart: had the 41st position for his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and the 10th as Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). |
| 30 | Shared a house with Ruby Wax in London in the early 1980s. |
| 31 | Was best man at the wedding of Dexter Fletcher and Dalia Ibelhauptaite. |
| 32 | Chosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#83) (2007). |
| 33 | For his death plunge down the side of the skyscraper in Die Hard (1988), he actually dropped 20 feet onto an airbag against a green screen. Director John McTiernan had to jump first to convince Rickman to do it. |
| 34 | Had cello lessons for his part in Truly Madly Deeply (1990), and while he handles the right (bowing) hand, the left hand is provided by a real cellist standing behind him with his arm through Alan Rickman's armpit. |
| 35 | For Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), he turned down the role of the Sheriff twice before he was told he could more or less have carte-blanche with his interpretation of the character. |
| 36 | The script of Galaxy Quest (1999) originally contained a mention of Alexander Dane having been knighted by Queen Elizabeth. He asked that this be changed because he believed it was inconsistent with the character, and all mentions of the knighting were removed. However, the character is still listed in the credits as "Sir Alexander Dane". |
| 37 | Angela Pell stated at the Berlinale Press Conference, that she wrote the role of Snow Cake (2006)'s Alex Hughes with him in mind. The character's name in the script was "Alan", and it was Rickman who suggested the change to Alex. |
| 38 | Read the script of Snow Cake (2006) and suggested Sigourney Weaver for the role of Linda, having worked with her on Galaxy Quest (1999). He even telephoned Weaver, and told her she had to read the script, as there was a role he felt she could play perfectly in it. |
| 39 | Was Richard Curtis' choice to play Charles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Curtis was very hesitant in casting Hugh Grant as he had so wanted Rickman. |
| 40 | Godfather of Tom Burke. |
| 41 | Auditioned for Chris Barrie's character Rimmer in Red Dwarf (1988). |
| 42 | He is 11 years older than Timothy Spall, 12 years older than Adrian Rawlins and Gary Oldman, 17 years older than David Thewlis, and 21 years older than Geraldine Somerville. Nevertheless, the character that the six of them play in the Harry Potter films are meant to be contemporaries and former classmates. |
| 43 | Good friends with Sharman Macdonald. |
| 44 | Was twice nominated for an Laurence Olivier Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", and in 2002 for a revival of Noël Coward's "Private Lives". |
| 45 | Failed his California driving test at one point for "driving too cautiously through a green light". |
| 46 | Says Canada is like a second home. |
| 47 | Good friends with Adrienne Clarkson, Canada's former Governor General. Rickman visited Adrienne Clarkson's Ottawa, Ontario home in May 2005. |
| 48 | His portrayal of Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) earned him a spot on the American Film Institute's list of the "100 Best Heroes/Villains" as the 46th best villain in film history. |
| 49 | Two of the Harry Potter films (so far) also feature Warwick Davis as Professor Flitwick. In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), Rickman and Warwick Davis play the same role. Warwick Davis wore the robotic suit for Marvin, while Rickman provides the voice. |
| 50 | Was twice nominated for Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor (Play): in 1987 for "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", and in 2002 for a revival of Noël Coward's "Private Lives". |
| 51 | Was active in raising funds for the Labour Party. |
| 52 | Was voted #19 in Empire Magazine's Greatest Living Movie Stars over the age of 50. |
| 53 | In Die Hard (1988), he is seen firing a gun three times (in the scene where Gruber shoots Joseph Takagi in the head; in the atrium when Gruber realizes Holly is John's wife and the "shoot the glass" scene), due to his uncontrollable habit of flinching when the gun recoiled. In that scene he blinks just before the camera cuts. |
| 54 | For the shot where Hans Gruber falls from the top of the building in Die Hard (1988), was actually dropped by a stuntman from a 20-foot high model onto an air bag. To get a genuine surprised look, the stuntman dropped him on the count of two instead of three. |
| 55 | He was nominated for a 2001 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Private Lives" at the Albery Theatre. |
| 56 | He was nominated for a 2002 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2001 for his performance in "Private Lives" at the Albery Theatre, London. |
| 57 | Was offered the role of Leonardo Leonardo in the 2000 cartoon based on Kevin Smith's film Clerks (1994). Originally, the character was modeled after Hans Gruber, but the design was changed upon Rickman's request. The studio decided not to go with Rickman, and the role went to Alec Baldwin. |
| 58 | Made Vice-Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2003. |
| 59 | While filming Die Hard (1988), was found proficient at mimicking American accents; a scene in which Hans Gruber and John McClane finally meet was then added to the script. |
| 60 | Is the second of four children; has an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister. |
| 61 | His father, Bernard Rickman, died when he was 8 years old. |
| 62 | Named Best Stage Actor for his role in the acclaimed revival of Noël Coward's "Private Lives" at The Variety Club Show Business Awards 2002. |
| 63 | Before becoming an actor, he studied graphic design at Chelsea College of Art and Design and at the Royal College of Art, forming a successful graphic design company, Graphiti, with several friends. |
| 64 | He became well-known to the American public with his performance as Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988). |
| 65 | Despite being author J.K. Rowling's first choice to play Snape in the Harry Potter films (she actually envisioned him when writing the character), he was only given the role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) after Tim Roth (the studio's preferred choice) backed out to star in Planet of the Apes (2001). |
| 66 | Nominated for Tony Award as Best Actor for Broadway revival of Noël Coward's "Private Lives" in May 2002. |
| 67 | Although a highly successful film actor, he has frequently passed up film offers to return to the theater (A place and activity which he calls "magical" and his "first love".). |
| 68 | Has been in a relationship with Rima Horton since 1965. The pair share a home in London. Rima Horton has retired from her lecturing position, and lost her seat on the council she worked for in the local elections of May 2006. |
| 69 | Ranked #59 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] |
| 70 | Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#34) (1995). |
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