Alan Rickman: Rest in piece and 'shoot the glass'

Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard

It's been surreal to see two British icons die quite unexpectedly, at the exact same age, within days of each other. First, we lost one of the greatest rock stars of all time in David Bowie and today, we've learned that iconic character actor Alan Rickman has passed away.

To a younger generation of audiences Rickman will forever be remembered for his supporting turns in the Harry Potter films and the unapologetically sappy holiday film Love Actually. 

I'm not knocking those films, but for me, I will always cherish him most of all for his dazzling turn as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, easily one of the greatest movie villains of all time, in perhaps the greatest action movie of all time.

In so many ways Rickman's work as Gruber has perfected the prototype of what we now expect of our action movie bad guys. They need to be vaguely foreign, in no way an actual physical threat to our hero and ideally, they should be funny.

There is a reason that kind of personality has become a cliche, and it's because Rickman was such a dynamite bit of brilliant fresh air that Hollywood could only replicate what he did, they never quite topped it. There have been more manic villains (The Joker) and more stoic ones (Darth Vader), but Hans Gruber was a real happening.

He saunters into Die Hard with a dry wit, but more importantly real brains. His entire posture is a ruse, he is essentially an elegant bank robber, and had his hot headed henchman not been so overconfident that they could single-handedly take out NYPD officer John McClane (a.k.a. Bruce Willis) he might have gotten away with his scheme.

The cat and mouse game between the Willis character and Rickman's of course is the narrative thrust of the movie, and it leads to a tension filled showdown where McClane stumbles upon Gruber by accident and Rickman must instantly morph into the guise of a frightened hostage.

Gotta love that Gruber

It's a tour de force acting wise, that raises the game of the usually laconic Willis. Eventually it leads to arguably the most memorable line of Rickman's career --"shoot the glass" -- which he orders one of his henchman to do, rendering Willis' bare feet into a bloody pulp.

What makes his performance so great is that he is not some stupid lightweight but he is also not a brawny bruiser either. He is stylish, suave and sophisticated. He speaks several languages. He has no patience for McClane, but he is not going to try to beat him in a straight up fight. It's Bruce Willis movie after-all. But he still manages to be totally formidable.

I once had the pleasure of attending a midnight screening of Die Hard, packed with film geeks, where Rickman made a personal appearance. He was charming and affable, even signing an audience member's Die Hard VHS set even when we asked by the theater to specifically not do that type of thing.

A highlight from that screening: Someone from the crowd asking him an inane question about some dialogue he says in the movie that is hard to understand.

Rickman gave a deep, sarcastic sigh and in that great baritone of his he asked rhetorically, "Who cares." It got a huge laugh and totally felt appropriate and honest. I will never forget that moment and, of course, movie fans everywhere will never forget Alan Rickman.