LONDON (TIP): Alan Rickman once famously said “I am the character you are not supposed to like”. His advice however fell on deaf ears.

Rickman should have been alive to see how much he was loved and admired.

The world on Thursday mourned the sudden death of the versatile actor who shifted from being comic to a villain who would get under your skin with nonchalant ease.

Rickman who became a household name playing the notorious villain Hans Gruber in Die Hard was suffering from cancer. He was 69 years of age.

Known the world over lately as enigmatic professor Snape in the Harry Potter films critics raved about his performance in Love Actually and he also earned an Oscar nod for playing the romantic hero in Sense and Sensibility.

He also won a Bafta Award for playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

A family statement said “The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends”. (TNN)