Alan Rickman Flashback! From Harry Potter to Sweeney Todd, the Seminar Star Sizzles on the Big Screen

It starts with the voice—a combination of purr and growl that can be sinister or suggestive, depending on the context. We’re talking about Alan Rickman, who is currently starring in the Broadway premiere of Seminar as a novelist who terrorizes four aspiring writers. Rickman is a masterful theater actor, with a pair of Tony nominations (for Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Private Lives) to show for it, as well as a critically acclaimed recent performance in John Gabriel Borkman at BAM. But he’s also a scene-stealing movie favorite whose films run the gamut of comedy, action, fantasy and romance. In honor of the star's November 20 opening night at Broadway’s Golden Theatre, we’ve gathered clips from six of our favorite Rickman film performances.

Hans Gruber in Die Hard
Rickman first attracted the attention of American moviegoers as a German terrorist who matches wits with Bruce Willis in this 1988 action hit. It takes Willis, an entire SWAT team and more to foil Hans’ plan to blow up a skyscraper and make off with $600 million. In the movie's official trailer, Rickman shows off his ability to put a unique spin on even the most prosaic lines due to his awesome powers of enunciation.


Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply
This 1990 British rom-com features a swoon-worthy performance by Rickman as a “ghost” who returns to his grief-stricken lover, Nina (Juliet Stevenson). Their star-crossed second-time-around romance includes this scene, in which Jamie counts the ways he loves Nina and then serenades her with “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” (by the Jersey Boys team of Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe!).


Colonel Christopher Brandon in Sense and Sensibility
The performance that spawned a dozen YouTube fan tributes: Rickman redefines the strong, silent type as the stalwart suitor of a young Kate Winslet in the beloved 1995 Jane Austen film adaptation. This brief clip shows everything you need to know about a man who is desperately in love but can’t bring himself to say so.


Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest
In this irresistible 1999 comedy, Rickman joins Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell and Tony Shalhoub as actors who can’t escape being identified with the roles they played in a Star Trek-type series. Vain Mr. Dane is especially peeved by his plight, until the crew is transported to a spaceship filled with real aliens. Broadway bonus: This clip compilation features Patrick Breen of Next Fall as Rickman’s biggest fan.


Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
“Our. New. Celebrity.” That’s how Rickman sarcastically welcomes (adorable) Daniel Radcliffe to Hogwarts during the 2001 launch of the blockbuster Harry Potter film series. As Professor Snape, Rickman brings an iconic authority figure to life, establishing from the beginning a relationship that matures and grows with each film.


Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd
Alan Rickman singing “Pretty Women” with Johnny Depp? Oh, yeah! As the nemesis of Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton’s 2007 film of Sondheim's masterpiece, Rickman adds a steely spine to the predatory judge, settling into Sweeney’s barber chair for the closest shave of his life. Though we know how this tale will turn out, Rickman, as always, keeps things interesting.