The late, great Alan Rickman would have turned 75 years old today if he were still with us, and fans across the world are paying tribute to the iconic actor's legacy on social media. A Golden Globe and Emmy Award winner, Rickman can be recognized from a number of his many memorable and highly-celebrated roles. Sadly, the actor died in 2016 at the age of 69 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.
To this day, fans are still badly missing Rickman, and the tribute posts are pouring in with different people honoring the fan favorite actor in many different ways. Of course, that includes many Harry Potter fans celebrating his role in that franchise, with a Harry Potter Facts account tweeting: "Happy Birthday Alan Rickman, our perfect Severus Snape! He would've been 75 today. Gone, but not forgotten. Raise your wands."
"Today we honour the memory and birthday of Alan Rickman, who played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films," another Harry Potter fan page tweeted.
Including a video compilation of Rickman's role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, another fan writes, "It would have been the 75th birthday of Alan Rickman today. So to celebrate, here are his best bits from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It's just one of the many examples of him owning a movie."
"On his birthday, remembering the great Alan Rickman, who starred as Dr. Lazarus/Alexander Dane in the #StarTrek homage #GalaxyQuest as well as dozens of other great films," tweets TrekMovie.com.
Critic Marshall Julius also posted another compilation of some of Rickman's best roles, writing in the caption, "Fondly remembering the magnetic and mellifluous, irascible and irreplaceable Alan Rickman, born today in 1946. 'I take my work seriously and the way to do that is to not take yourself too seriously.'"
"From Hans Gruber to Professor Snape, Alan Rickman brought us some of the most iconic characters that we love to hate. Happy birthday to a legend!!!" reads another tweet.
"If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust," states another tweet, directly quoting Rickman. "The late great Alan Rickman was born on this day 75 years ago."
Rickman might be gone, but we haven't heard the last of him just yet. Last year, it was announced that all 27 of his personal diaries will be published in a single book. Dating back to the early 90s, the "witty, gossipy and utterly candid" writings detail thoughts about his life and career over a 25-year period. Before his death, Rickman had planned to one day release the diaries, and his dream will be fulfilled posthumously when The Diaries of Alan Rickman is released in Fall 2022.
There's no doubt that Rickman would still be nailing performances if he were still with us today. His 75th birthday also marks a great occasion to celebrate his work by revisiting a Rickman movie or two, so perhaps a Harry Potter and Die Hard double feature is in order for many fans tonight. However you choose to remember him, one thing that's for sure is that there will never be another one like Alan Rickman.