Friends and colleagues recall Alan Rickman a decade after his death

Ten years after Alan Rickman’s death, actors, directors and friends have shared memories of the actor’s life and work, recalling his voice, humour, generosity and the impact he had on their careers. Ruby Wax said: “Alan was my best friend, my brother and my everything. I don’t stop thinking about him,” recounting decades of daily contact from 1980, joint houses at the RSC they called “Shakespeare Sauna”, and stories such as their pet tortoise Betty.

Wax said Rickman was godfather to her children, steered careers, and that she feels a void: “If I could speak to him I’d say: ‘Come back, because I can’t really bear being without you.’” Other colleagues offered snapshots: Lindsay Duncan described Rickman as a host of elegant, wine-fuelled dressing-room dinners and said he famously chose details of his funeral; Richard Curtis said he had once voted for Rickman for a lead role and later valued his work in Love Actually, while recalling a difficult night during a scene with Rowan Atkinson that Rickman called “one of the worst nights of his life.” Sigourney Weaver remembered him as “sublimely playful” on Galaxy Quest and as a careful collaborator on Snow Cake, quoting him: “I do not improvise,” and saying Rickman told her “We’ll see” shortly before he died two months later.

Key Topics

Culture, Alan Rickman, Ruby Wax, Royal Shakespeare Company, Love Actually, Galaxy Quest