Alan Rickman was a renowned actor, and former member of the ‘Royal Shakespeare Company.’ He rose to fame with his portrayal of ‘Le Vicomte de Valmont’ in ‘Les Liaisons Dangereuses.’ Rickman, a versatile stage actor, made an easy transition into films. Thanks to his impressive portrayal of ‘Hans Gruber’ in ‘Die Hard,’ he faced the danger of being typecast as a villain. He did not possess a strong muscular body or the unsettling glint in his eyes which one normally associates with a villain, but had something else that made him appropriate for playing characters with negative shades. The fact that he became typecast after playing a villain in just one film is a testimony to the acting skills of this great artist. Over the course of his long career, he also played comic and romantic roles. He also acted in television movies and his role as ‘Grigori Rasputin’ in the ‘HBO’ production ‘Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny’ won him a ‘Golden Globe Award.’ He played ‘Severus Snape’ in the ‘Harry Potter’ film series which increased his popularity as a film actor.