Alan Rickman
Born: 21st February 1946
Where: Hammersmith, London, UK
The melodious-voiced actor first attracted attention as Bruce Willis' terrorist nemesis Hans Gruber in the thriller Die Hard.
He has gone on to impress in a variety of roles ranging from the evil Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves to Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series.
The second of four children born to Irish and Welsh parents, his father died when he was eight and he had to overcome a speech disability as a youngster.
He attended London's Latymer School and originally intended to be a graphic artist, enrolling at London's Royal College of Art.
He founded a Soho-based design company, but after deciding that his heart lay in acting, switched careers.
At the age of 26 he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and spent three years there.
He performed several Royal Shakespeare Company plays before winning acclaim as the heartless seducer Le Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
However, it was 1988 that proved to be his breakout year with his first major film role alongside action man Willis in Die Hard.
In 1991, he impressed as the ghost of Juliet Stevenson in the classic weepie Truly Madly Deeply and switched styles fo play the villain opposite Kevin Costner's Robin Hood.
The same year he starred int he controversial drama Close My Eyes and went on to show his range in Sense and Sensibility as Colonel Brandon.
In 1996, he made his directorial debut with the drama The Winter Guest with Emma Thompson and her mother Phyllida Law.
With his reputation established in Hollywood, he starred in Dogma, in which he played an angel, and Galaxy Quest, a quick-witted comedy based on Star Trek geeks.
In 2001, he first made his mark as the sneering Professor Snape in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (after Tim Roth backed out) and the subsequent sequels.
Director and writer Richard Curtis cast him as Emma Thompson's philandering husband in the ensemble romantic drama Love Actually in 2003.
Recent work includes the role of Antoine in the big screen adaptation of Patrick Suskind's Perfume.
