Thursday, January 14, 2016

The Art of Acting – From Snape to Gruber – Alan Rickman


Video version

Alan Rickman blessed us with a wonderful and diversified career but I want to focus on just one performance. The first one I ever saw and have worshiped for so many years. I was 9 years old when “Die Hard” came out and I vividly remember watching it even though I wasn’t even allowed to do so. I was able to sneak in the theatre. The film blew me away and is part of the reason I do what I do today.

It’s very easy to pick a scene from “Die Hard” on which Alan Rickman is perfect. It’s easy because you can choose literally any scene. Because of that I decided to highlight his entire performance instead of focusing on just one scene.

Just minutes ago when I found out about Alan Rickman’s passing I immediately jumped out of bed to write about his most iconic role. Hans Gruber. It was his first big break in Hollywood and it turned out to be what he became most famous for. And  justifiably so. His performance is spectacular and John McTiernan was blessed with the perfect actor for the role.

I think it’s safe to say Hans Gruber is amongst the most iconic and memorable characters in film history. Wonderful material to begin with but Alan Rickman elevated it to perfection. He crafted a performance that defined his career. A performance that I could talk about for hours and hours and always in awe. The charisma, the complexity and the motivations are all there and executed perfectly. Alan took the character and made it his own and in the process made it extremely believable and even likable despite his not so noble agenda. Hans Gruber is a charming guy. He’s dangerous, highly motivated and extremely educated. I love that about the character and I love it because of Alan Rickman’s work. 


His first speech trying to pin point Takagi in the crowd. The elevator talk about the suit. The following scene on which he shoots Takagi. His confrontation with John pretending to be a hostage. The list goes on and on.

The world lost a great actor. A body of work that can never be replicated. His legacy remains and it will certainly inspire many generations to come.


Rest in peace Alan Rickman. You were and always will be one of the greats.

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