Alan Rickman was born in London on February 21, 1946. He has been acting since his time as a young school boy. He is also a talented watercolor artist and calligrapher. He has had a long career in filmography and on stage. In 1978, he played the role of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet for BBC Television Shakespeare, and since that time, he has been in many different films.

Anyone who appreciates good acting and real talent demonstrated by the ability to play many different roles is a fan of Alan Rickman. He has a natural talent for playing the villain, even though in real life, he is an unusually nice guy. Alan Rickman has shown that he is capable of playing many diverse roles. Besides his excellent performance of Snape in the Harry Potter Series, he has demonstrated talent and skill at playing romantic leading man roles as well as a comedy personality.  Ever since his appearance in the film Die Hard when he played the villain, he has been recognized for his superb ability to portray a villain as no one else can. Rickman has appeared in many more films since Die Hard opened doors to allow him to show his talent in more diverse ways.

Many fans of Alan Rickman insist that his top performances were as Snape in the Harry Potter movies. Beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, his performance was highly acclaimed as one of the best in this 2001 film. Again in 2002, Rickman’s performance as Snape in the following film was outstanding. He was nominated by the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast. Alan Rickman continued the role of Snape in the next six Harry Potter films for a total of eight films in which he played this role.

In 2009, after his appearance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rickman received the Scream Award for Best Ensemble. The Scream Award was bestowed on the actor during an award show for his appearance in the fantasy genre film. This award was long overdue for Rickman’s performances as the infamous professor, but it was also well-appreciated. Many fans of Rickman believe that he should have received many other awards for his role in these films. They see his performance as one of the primary characters that kept the series alive because so many movie goers returned time after time to see Snape, not just Harry Potter and his friends.

Rickman’s performance in the final film of the saga won an award, the MTV World Cup Award for Favorite Harry Potter Character Portrayal. He was also nominated for two different Scream Awards. These were for Best Supporting Actor and for Best Ensemble. This excellent actor has also won awards for many other appearances in films, and he has been nominated for many as well. As early as 1990, Rickman received an award for British Actor of the Year. He has received numerous other awards for Best Actor for his appearances in various films.

Alan Rickman’s role as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films were appreciated by Harry Potter fans around the world that saw him as more than a supporting actor. In these films, Rickman showed his flexibility in role playing as the character continued to evolve and change throughout the series. Rickman’s unique and distinguished voice let to other narrator and voice roles between the Potter movies. He is currently filming Gambit, in which he plays the role of Lord Shahbandar. Rickman’s fans are anxiously awaiting the release of this film in 2012. They know that their favorite actor will again play his role with the gusto and zest that is part of his infamous repertoire.