Alan Rickman

ALAN RICKMAN portrayed the enigmatic Severus Snape, the former potions professor, the Hogwarts' headmaster in Harry Potter movies. He originated the role of Snape in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and has played the character in all of the Harry Potter movies.

Rickman also starred with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz in Michael Hoffman's crime comedy "Gambit," written by the Coen brothers. He also returned to Broadway to star in the Theresa Rebeck's play "Seminar."

Rickman was already an award-winning stage actor in his native England when he made his feature film debut in the 1988 action blockbuster "Die Hard." Since then, he has repeatedly been honored for his work on the screen.

In 1992, he won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," and also earned a second BAFTA Award nomination, for Best Actor, for his role in Anthony Minghella's "Truly Madly Deeply." Also that year, he won both the Evening Standard British Film Award and the London Film Critics' Circle Award for his work in those two films as well as Stephen Poliakoff's "Close My Eyes," with the London Film Critics' Circle adding his performance in "Quigley Down Under" for good measure. Rickman later earned BAFTA Award nominations for his performances in Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility" and Neil Jordan's "Michael Collins."

Rickman starred as Judge Turpin in Tim Burton's film version of the Stephen Sondheim musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." He reunited with Burton to provide the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in the 2010 fantasy hit "Alice in Wonderland." His additional film credits include "Bottle Shock," for which he won the Best Actor Award at the 2008 Seattle Film Festival; "Nobel Son"; "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer"; "Snow Cake"; "Love Actually"; "Blow Dry"; "Galaxy Quest"; "Dogma"; "Judas Kiss"; and "Mesmer," for which he was named Best Actor at the 1994 Montreal Film Festival.

On the small screen, he won Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards® for his work in the title role of HBO's "Rasputin." He received another Emmy nomination for his starring role in the 2004 HBO movie "Something the Lord Made." He also starred with Emma Thompson in the BBC telefilm "The Song of Lunch."

In 1997, Rickman made his feature film directorial debut with "The Winter Guest," starring Emma Thompson, which he also scripted with Sharman Macdonald, based on Macdonald's original play. An official selection at the Venice Film Festival, the movie was nominated for a Golden Lion and won three other awards, and was later named Best Film at the 1997 Chicago Film Festival. Rickman also directed the play version of "The Winter Guest" for the British stage. In addition, he directed "My Name is Rachel Corrie" in the West End, winning Best New Play and Best Director at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards before the production transferred to New York. He also directed a production of August Strindberg's "Creditors" at London's Donmar Warehouse, which was also presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in April 2010.

Rickman studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons. In 1985, he created the role of the Vicomte de Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" and, in 1987, he earned a Tony Award nomination when he reprised the role on Broadway. In 2001 and 2002, he starred in the West End production of Noel Coward's "Private Lives," for which he won a Variety Club Award and earned Olivier and Evening Standard Award nominations for Best Actor. Coming with the play to Broadway in 2002, Rickman received his second Tony nomination for Best Actor. He returned to the stage in Ibsen's "John Gabriel Borkman," which opened at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin before moving to the Brooklyn Academy.

©2011 Warner Bros. Pictures