Alan Rickman Is Dead At 69

British actor Alan Rickman died in London this morning. He was 69 years old, and family members say he had been battling cancer.

Rickman was perhaps best known for his roles as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films and as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, but he had an illustrious theater career, and studied Shakespeare with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as a youth. He worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1980s, and in 1985 he starred as the Vicomte de Valmont in the company's production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses; that production eventually went to Broadway and earned him a Tony nomination in 1987.

In 1988, Rickman played the ruthless German terrorist Gruber in the first Die Hard film, a role he reportedly almost turned down:

Other films of note include Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense and Sensibility, Love, Actually, and Galaxy Quest, a film in which Rickman stole the show from star Tim Allen as disgruntled sci-fi actor Alexander Dane.

Rickman continued to be a formidable presence in theater as well, but his role as Snape in the Harry Potter franchise introduced him to a whole new generation of fans. His portrayal of Snape expertly straddled the line between villain and beleaguered hero in a way even the books couldn't convey. "Snape. There was more to him that met the eye. It’s something unnameable," Rickman has said about the character. "He lives within a very tight confines emotionally, physically. He lives a solitary kind of existence. Mysterious. He’s very focussed. Eventually you get to find out who he is. Innocence. Lost. Resentful. It’s been a complete privilege."

Celebrities and fans have been offering tributes to Rickman, who leaves behind wife Rima Horton: