Alan Rickman has died aged 69

We are hugely sad to report the death of veteran screen and stage actor Alan Rickman at the age of 69, after suffering from cancer. His death was confirmed on Thursday by his family.

The British actor was most well-known for his roles as Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, and as Hans Gruber in 1988’s Die Hard – the performance which effectively launched his screen career. After that, he played the sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; the rest of his acting career saw him take up many memorable leading and supporting roles, including the mantle of Harry Potter’s begrudging guide Severus Snape back in 2001, in the first film in the series.

His death comes only a few days after that of another giant of the arts, David Bowie. 2016 is rapidly shaping up to be the year where we lose a worrying amount of our most beloved performers. Luckily, we can still see two completed works of Rickman’s which are yet to be widely released: Eye in the Sky, and Alice Through the Looking Glass as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar.

Excuse us while we go watch Die Hard a thousand times on repeat.