Alan Rickman will be remembered for his compelling roles as both the surly Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise and the misunderstood Harry in the feel-good film “Love Actually.” It was devastating to hear of his passing on Jan. 14 due to his long battle with cancer.

Rickman was loved for both his acting and directing, taking roles of compelling antagonists and romantics leads. He made a name for himself while performing in a Royal Shakespeare Company performance as the male lead in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” earning himself both a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award.

He mostly appeared in comedies early on in his career, including “Galaxy Quest” and “Dogma,” before becoming well known in “Something the Lord Made” and the “Die Hard” series.

His performance as Severus Snape was covered by media as a “worthy nominee for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.” He was nominated for awards for the role at the 2011 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards, 2011 Saturn Awards, 2011 Scream Awards and 2011 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category.

In each genre, the characters he portrayed left a mark on his audience. The cold character Harry from “Love Actually” and the frustration he felt when his wife thought wrongly that he was cheating on her, to his confession at the end of the movie hoping to win his wife back over. And then in “Harry Potter,” there was that evil saunter as he walked into the room to teach potions, playing on the idea that he may be evil, all the way up to the final performance, pulling his memories out to show the truth of his actions to Harry Potter.

Rickman had kept the news of his terminal illness from the public and most of his coworkers. Ralph Fiennes and Jason Isaacs expressed their surprise after his passing, and other actors, such as Emma Watson, expressed their joy in getting to work with the man.

Alan Rickman will be missed.