Alan Rickman: A Jackedup Obituary

I feel at my age, I will spend my life as an unrepentant, old-school fanboy eulogizing the great talent that has touched my life. Only days from paying respect to David Bowie, I find myself mourning the loss of another great talent. Alan Rickman achieved my attention in his breakout roles in Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of thieves. His voice, his delivery of the lines, his presence always struck me no matter what role he played.

He seemed to always chill me with but a word; enthrall me with but a move. He immersed himself into roles that had me double taking and questioning 'Is that Alan Rickman? It must be. That VOICE!'.

He caught everyone's attention in 1988's DIE HARD as Hans Gruber, one of the most unforgettable villains of my lifetime. He would rise to occasion, once again, as the dangerous Sheriff of Notingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. As stated before, his voice and presence made the movie and, in my humble opinion, out-shined the star, Cosner. But, by that time, I was already a fan of the English accent and his talent for dark overtones.

He continued to hon his wares in many venues, both in television and theater, but the nerdcore wouldn't notice him so much again until his appeared in Kevin Smith's View Askew Productions , DOGMA, as the voice of God, Metatron.

Within the same year, he would endear himself to the geek culture in the Star Trek parody, GALAXY QUEST. His performance as a theater trained actor stuck in a role he loathed was priceless. As early as a year ago, there were talks about a reunion; a sequel. It is deeply regrettable that he will never be involved in any such sequel of this iconic sleeper giant of Nerd cinema history. There is still hope for Galaxy Quest on television though. By Grabthar's Hammer, make it so.

But, of course, most of nerdom will remember Rickman (much like they will remember Bowie for his portrayal as the Goblin King) for his role as Snape of Harry Potter fame.

One role that may go overlooked is his Judge Turpin in Johnny Depp's SWEENY TODD. But, if you haven't already, honor him by watching this performance. His chilling demeanor. His condescending tone. His villainous overtones make this movie. And, oh yeah, Depp was good too.

What I remember most about him was his voice; ICONIC. Beside playing the voice of God, the angel Metatron, he has lent his voice to roles that touch all of us fanboys deeply. In the movie rendering of the classic HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, he voiced the overly depressed robot, Marvin. Recently, he voiced the Blue Caterpillar in ALICE IN WONDERLAND In his first scene of Alice, he was invisible, but ,once he spoke, there was no denying it was Rickman. Good news, Rickman fans, the production is complete on the Alice sequel, THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, as Rickman's voice will be heard again, even after his death. And, as far as that goes, his voice will be heard throughout the ages as we replay his roles over and over again for our children and grandchildren; passing his talent on to generation after generation.