British actor Alan Rickman, best known for his role as Professor Snape in the popular Harry Potter films, has died in London at the age of 69, reported The Guardian. His death was confirmed on Thursday by his family. Rickman had been suffering from cancer, the report said.

The actor shot to fame when he played the villain Hans Gruber in the first Die Hard movie in 1988. He was reportedly offered the role two days after arriving in Los Angeles at the age of 41. Some of the other popular characters played by Rickman are the sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, for which he won a Bafta, and an unfaithful husband in 2003’s Love, Actually. However, it was Rickman’s work on stage that established him as an actor.