A biography for Alan Rickmanhasn’t been written yet.
“I've never been able to plan my life. I just lurch from indecision to indecision.”
“My idea of a real treat is Magic Mountain without standing in line.”
“It's a nightmare to sit and watch a film that I'm in. There's a horrible inescapability to it.”
“You know, London is so sprawling, and you can sometimes forget that anybody else is on a stage anywhere else.”
“Market forces impose certain rules before a film can actually get made.”
“If you spend any time in Los Angeles, there's only one topic of conversation.”
“I'm a lot less serious than people think.”
“The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible. Or, what's impossible? What's a fantasy?”
“I have every sympathy for writers. It's a mystery to me what they do. I can edit. I can cross out and say, 'I'm not saying that' or, 'How about we move this to here? Wouldn't that make that bit of the story better?' But where any of it comes from is beyond me. I will never write a play or a novel.”
“So you can't judge the character you're playing ever.”
“I love working in New York theater.”
“I think there's some connection between absolute discipline and absolute freedom.”
“On film you put all your energies into a single glance.”
“From my experience, I think that every actor has to make sure that they're in charge of their own career somehow or other.”
“Mellow doesn't describe me. I'm hungry every day.”
“Talent is an accident of genes - and a responsibility.”
“Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.”
“I can only see my limitations. That's just who I am.”
“What's interesting about the process of acting is how often you don't know what you're doing.”
“It would be wonderful to think that the future is unknown and sort of surprising.”