Great acting is not becoming another character. It’s using your unique gifts and putting yourself into a character to give words on a page, an imagined situation, real life and depth. Alan Rickman was an actor who embodied that. Whether the role was drama or deadpan comedy, which he did so well, it was what he brought to it that made it special.
Hail and farewell.
I heard the sad news shortly before I read and watched your special tribute, Chris. It gave me pause, indeed.
Me too. And that pause caused me to reflect on how lucky we are to live in a time when people we may never meet can enrich our lives so wonderfully. I consider that thought a special gift from both Mr. Rickman and Mr. Bowie.
One of my favorite actors of all time. It’s hard to accept that we won’t be seeing him or hearing his extraordinary voice in anything new ever again.
I hope this is the last Hail and Farewell of a supremely talented 69 year old Brit who dies from cancer for a long, long time. Two so close together is just too much. I watched this very video about five minutes before reading your post. That’s an example of an acceptable coincidence.
There’s a saying that celebrity deaths come in threes, but I hope it’s not really true. I’d rather not lose anyone else just yet. I know it’s inevitable, but, really, we need a pause before we lose someone else.
On the bright side there are some birthdays coming up. It’s good to be able to celebrate those that are still with us.
Oh man, this made me so sad when I saw the news this morning. I had planned to write a funny (funnyish?) post on my own website today but I kind of feel like the wind has been taken out of my sails. It’s hard to be humorous when you’re feeling sad. I agree with Margot. No more beloved entertainers need to die for a long time.
It’s very sad news, but I feel like this is the sort of time when we need humor more than ever. That’s one of the reasons I posted the “Four Yorkshiremen” sketch as a tribute to Rickman. The other three couldn’t get through it without cracking up but he stayed in character and completely straight-faced the entire time. I think that highlights what made him so special.
I thought about the scene from Galaxy Quest, when he says, “You were never serious about the craft!” That line always makes me fall over laughing and now it has even greater poignancy because I feel it was Alan Rickman speaking from the heart. Acting is a craft, and he was deeply serious about it.
Geez Death … how ‘bought givin it a rest this week. Fuck.
Yeah, I would ask Death to take somebody nobody’ll miss for a change, but then I see the eternal Footman holding my coat and snickering.
I will miss that voice. That sonorous, mournful, caramel voice. RIP, good sir.
I’ve never heard his voice described as “caramel” before, but since to me it’s the most delicious thing there is it’s fitting. Yes, that voice will indeed be missed.