Alan Rickman dead at 69

British actor AlanRickman, whose career ranged from the Royal Shakespeare Company to the Harry Potterfilms, has died. He was 69.

Rickman's family said the actor died early Thursday in London after a battle with cancer.

Daniel Radcliffe, who played opposite himin eight Harry Potterfilms, said Rickmanwas "undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with."

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Born to a working-class London family in 1946 and trained at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Rickman was often cast as the bad guy; with his rich, languid voice he could invest evil with wicked, irresistible relish.

His breakout role was as scheming French aristocrat the Vicomte de Valmont in an acclaimed 1985 RSC production of Christopher Hampton's Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Film roles included the psychopathic villain Hans Gruber, who tormented Bruce Willis inDie Hardin 1988; a deceased lover who consoles his bereaved partner in 1990's Truly Madly Deeply; the wicked sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thievesin 1991; and a wayward husband in 2003 romantic comedy Love Actually.

Roles were remarkably varied

Millions know him from the Potter films, in which he played the potions and defence against the dark arts teacher Severus Snape, who was either a nemesis or an ally possibly both to the titular teenage wizard.

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling tweeted that "there are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death. He was a magnificent actor [and]a wonderful man."

Mohammed Saghir, the present-day sheriff of Nottingham now a ceremonial role in the English Midlands city paid tribute to Rickman's version of Robin Hood's famous foe.

"His sheriff was a gloriously nasty character who it was easy to love to hate and who he appeared to have great fun playing," Saghir said.

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Rickman's villains were memorable, and included an Emmy-winning turn as "mad monk" Rasputin in a 1996 TV biopic.

But Rickman's screen roles were remarkably varied, and included the upright Col. Brandon in Ang Lee's 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibilityand Irish politician Eamon de Valera in 1996 historical drama Michael Collins.

He appeared frequently onstage, earning Tony Award nominations for Les Liaisons Dangereusesin 1987 and Noel Coward's Private Livesin 2002.

Rickmanhad a sideline in comic sci-fi, bringing awareness and fun to the spoof Galaxy Questin 1999 and delivering existential ennui as the voice of Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxyin 2005.

"He could play so many different colours he could do comedy, he could do period drama, he could be silly, he could be ultra serious, he could be menacing," film critic Leonard Maltin told CBC News.

'Animal in me takes over'

Rickman was also a filmmaker, directing and co-starring opposite Kate Winslet in the 2014 costume drama A Little Chaos.Seventeen years earlier, he'd directed Emma Thompson and her mother Phyllida Law in The Winter Guest.

"Everybody loved Alan. He was always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny," veteran British actor Michael Gambon told BBC radio. "He had a great voice, he spoke wonderfully well, he was intelligent, he wrote plays and he directed a play. So he was a real man of the theatre and the stage."

Frequently charming in person, Rickman was, by his own account, uncompromising as an actor. During the filming of Harry Potter,he maintained Snape's air of haughty disdain even off-camera.

"The animal in me takes over," Rickman said in 2011 when he appeared on Broadway in Theresa Rebeck's play Seminar.

"You're as polite as possible, but it's not always possible."

Canadian writer and directorRichard Greenblatt, who was a close friend ofRickman's, said he was "gentle" and "loving."

"I don't think he ever came off as a kind person, as a generous person, as a loyal person," said Greenblatt."And yet, those are the first adjectives I think of when I think of him."

Rickman is survived by his partner of 50 years, Rima Horton, whom he married in 2012.Funeral details weren't immediately available.