Readers recall Alan Rickman's off-screen warmth and memorable roles

Readers shared personal recollections of actor Alan Rickman, describing encounters that ranged from a university train platform to post-show theatre parties and film-related events.

One reader said that, returning to university in Manchester in the mid-90s, their wife fell on a station platform and Rickman stopped, pointed and laughed before walking on; the writer added she never felt it was unkind. Another contributor contrasted Rickman’s menacing Die Hard villain with his off-screen humour, recalling that at a tribute event he turned up with a bandaged head and crutches to mockingly suggest his character had survived. A different reader wrote that he had "mastered silences and stares on screen."

Other memories described his theatre knowledge and kindness: one person said Rickman spent half an hour at a Barbican aftershow discussing experimental theatre and dated the encounter to 2003, "I think"; another recalled mimicking his lines as the Sheriff of Nottingham and admiring his grace. Readers also noted surprise that Hans Gruber was his first movie role, and an assistant stage manager described Rickman mistakenly calling him by the wrong name, then sending a bottle of champagne and a card after the birth of the writer’s child.

Taken together, the recollections emphasise Rickman’s humour, generosity and craft as an actor, and several contributors said he was much missed.

Key Topics

Culture, Alan Rickman, Die Hard, Hans Gruber, Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican