Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (born 21 February 1946) is a British actor and theatre director born in London, England. Rickman is known for his performances in film as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series (Harry Potter (film series)), Eamon De Valera in Michael Collins (Michael Collins (film)), and Metatron in Dogma (Dogma_(film)). He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is also known for his prominent roles as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1991 (1991 in film) blockbuster film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; as Colonel Brandon in the Oscar-winning 1995 Sense and Sensibility (Sense and Sensibility (film)). More recently he has played Judge Turpin in Tim Burtons Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (film)) and voiced The Caterpillar (Caterpillar (Alices Adventures in Wonderland)) in Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)). The Guardian named Rickman as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.