Alan Rickman Passes Away; World Loses Legend

Screencap of Alan Rickman in Dogma

Within just four days, England, along with the rest of the world lost two major icons in the entertainment field. David Bowie passed away four days ago and the world wept. Unfortunately, without nearly as much news coverage, Alan Rickman passed away from cancer.

While the world revels in the authoritative voices of actors such as Morgan Freeman, James Earl Jones, and Malcom McDowell, one of the most overlooked was Alan Rickman's. In a statement released by Helen Mirren to Entertainment Tonight, she said, ""He was utterly distinctive, with a voice that could suggest honey or a hidden stiletto blade, and the profile of a Roman Emperor." His voice was so distinctive that director Kevin Smith cast Rickman as the Metatron (the voice of God) in Dogma.

And this is not to take away from his overall acting abilities. Rickman was a master at transforming into whatever the part required of him. He could star in romantic roles in movies like Sense and Sensibility and Love Actually. He was also able to pull off comedic roles such as in Dogma and Galaxy Quest.

 Most of all, he was able to play the perfect villain. As Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Rickman was voted the 46th best villain in cinema history in "AFI 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains". For those who are younger, they would probably know him from his role as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series of movies. To a lesser extent, he played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and as Rasputin in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny in one of his few television roles.

Not only could he act before a camera, but he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and logged in time on the stage. He was so good that he was nominated twice for a Tony Award as a lead actor for his roles in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Private Lives.

In his career he had been nominated for multiple awards and pulled down wins in the BAFTA Awards, the Golden Globes, the MTV Movie Awards, the People's Choice Awards, the Emmys, the Satellite Awards, and the SAG Awards. About the only major award he was never even nominated for was for the Oscars which is a travesty considering all the great roles he has played and made his own.

He was also a talented voice actor in such roles as Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and as Absolem the Caterpillar in the Alice in Wonderland movies starring Johnny Depp. The sequel Alice: Through the Looking Glass will end up being his last role as the movie is set for a May release in 2016.

With friends and family at his side, Rickman passed away quietly and the world lost another legend.