Alan Rickman: A life in pictures

Rickman was a dresser before finding work with the Royal Shakespeare Company

Alan Rickman pictured at the Goodwood Festival, July 2015 (Getty Images)

Alan Rickman, who has died aged 69 after suffering from cancer, will be best remembered for his remarkable career in film and on stage.

He began his acting career at the age of 41 when he played Hans Gruber, the villain to Bruce Willis’ character in Die Hard in 1988.

Prior to acting, Rickman who hails from a working-class London family, was a dresser.

Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988)

After finding work with the Royal Shakespeare company appeared on stage playing Le Vicomte in the play Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1986 for which he garnered a Tony award nomination.

Six years later he won an Emmy and Golden Globe for playing Rasputin in the 1995 mini-series.

Actresses Cybill Shepherd (L) and Christine Baranski (C) present an Emmy to Alan Rickman (R) for outstanding lead actor in a mini-series or special for his lead role in the HBO production of 'Rasputin' during the 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Pasadena, California, 1996

He would later go on to attract a different calibre of fans due to his portrayal of Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise.

(L-R) Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis attend the New York premiere of 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2' at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, 2011

Rickman is survived by his wife Rima Horton who he married in 2012, the pair met as teenagers.

Rickman will feature in two films later this year, as the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Alice Through The Looking Glass and Eye In The Sky alongside Dame Helen Mirren.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.