British actor Alan Rickman has died at the age of 69, his manager confirmed to dpa today.

The Press Association reported that he had died from cancer.

Rickman was one of the highest profile British actors of his generation, featuring in countless films for cinema and television.

His most famous role was as the character of Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.

His international breakthrough came in the 1980s when he played the villain alongside Bruce Willis in the blockbuster ‘Die Hard’.

Born in London in 1946, Rickman displayed great versatility in the roles he played, ranging from Colonel Brandon in the period drama ‘Sense and Sensibility’, to Metatron in the fantasy film ‘Dogma’ with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and a married middle-aged man tempted to have an affair with his secretary in ‘Love Actually’.

He worked with the leading directors in the movie business, like Tim Burton for example in ‘Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’, in which he played Judge Turpin.

Rickman was also a regular on the stage, playing opposite Helen Mirren in William Shakespeare's ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, as well as the lead character in Henrik Ibsen's ‘John Gabriel Borkman’.

He won many international awards, including the Golden Globe in 1997 for the TV miniseries ‘Rasputin’ in which he played the infamous Russian monk.

- dpa