Famous Villain Alan Rickman Dies At 69; Fans And Friends Paid Tribute To The Actor

Alan Rickman, first appeared in the movie Die Hard, as a villain, known as Hans Gruber in 1988. After his promising role, he became one of the most favorite villain actors for the past decade. But in 2001, he showed his different side after he played the character of Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films.

However, just recently, fans of the epic movie were grieving after they found out that the actor already passed away at the age of 69. The sad news was confirmed by his family.

The family released a statement on Thursday, Jan. 14 to announce his death and it reads, "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends." The statement as also reported in BBC further revealed that the actor has been suffering from cancer before he died.

After the sad news, Harry Potter fans gathered at mythical platform 9 3/4 at London's King's Cross station -- the entry point to the Harry Potter Universe -- to pay tribute to the late actor. On Friday, Jan. 15, numerous fans left some flowers, touching notes and photographs to the platform -- transforming it to a memorial in honor of their idol.

While fans paid tribute through King's Cross Platform, J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter took to social media her way of paying respect for the actor. "There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death," she wrote to Twitter. "My thoughts are with [Rickman's wife] Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts."

Since the announcement of Rickman's death, social media has been flooded with messages from the fans and Hollywood actors to express their condolences and admiration for the actor. His Harry Potter co-star, Daniel Radcliffe, described Alan as the "greatest actor" he ever work with.

"Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career," Radcliffe added on Google Plus.

Alan Rickman appeared on numerous famous films and won Golden Globe for best actor in TV film for his title role in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny in 1997. Recently, he hit headlines after he revealed he secretly married Rima Horton last year.