Alan Rickman Biography

Fast Facts

• Knew he wanted to be an actor at age 7, but was a gifted artist and illustrator, so he decided to pursue a career in graphic design at first
• Worked as a graphic designer at radical newspaper, the Notting Hill Herald, and cofounded the London-based design company Graphiti
• At 26, he left his design firm after he was accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• Joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985 and originated the role of Le Vicomte de Valmont in a West End production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses; he reprised the role on Broadway in 1987
• First big-screen role came with a villainous turn opposite Bruce Willis in the 1988 action blockbuster Die Hard
• Named British Actor of the Year at the 1991 London Film Critics Awards for a variety of roles, including the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Became Vice Chairman of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2003