Editing Alan Rickman (section)

===1990–2000: Career breakthrough ===
In 1990, he played the Australian Elliott Marston opposite [[Tom Selleck]] in ''[[Quigley Down Under]]'' (1990). The following year, Rickman was cast as the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]] in [[Kevin Reynolds (director)|Kevin Reynolds]]'s film adaptation of ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]'' (1991). In the film, Rickman acted opposite [[Kevin Costner]] and [[Morgan Freeman]]. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' proclaimed that while ''Robin Hood'' "left critics and movie goers underwhelmed, Rickman's gleefully wicked villain became the summer's most talked-about performance".<ref name="mcferran">{{cite magazine |last=McFerran |first=Ann |title=Alan Rickman: Villain |url=https://ew.com/article/1991/08/09/alan-rickman-villain/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=21 October 2019 |date=9 August 1991}}</ref> For his performance he received the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]. Upon winning the award Rickman stated, "This will be a healthy reminder to me that subtlety isn't everything".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICdPZKc9bVY |title=Alan Rickman Wins Supporting Actor for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in 1992 |website=YouTube |date=17 January 2015 |access-date=6 August 2022}}</ref> Despite gaining acclaim within the media for his ability to portray villainous roles in films<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/25/top10.britishvillains/ The Screening Room's Top 10 British Villains] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080224183735/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/25/top10.britishvillains/ |date=24 February 2008}}, CNN. Retrieved 14 January 2016.</ref><ref name="mcferran" /> Rickman took issue with being [[Typecasting (acting)|typecast]] as a villain. During this decade he would portray a range of characters that would defy media perceptions.<ref name=ObitSMH>{{cite news |title=Alan Rickman, Obituary |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/alan-rickman-obituary-from-a-council-estate-childhood-to-hollywood-fame-20160115-gm6bea.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=16 January 2016 |access-date=15 January 2016}}</ref>

Rickman soon started to play leading roles such as Man, in the enigmatic film ''[[Closet Land]]'' (1991) alongside [[Madeleine Stowe]]; and he also was the romantic role of Jamie in the independent romance film ''[[Truly, Madly, Deeply (film)|Truly, Madly, Deeply]]'' (1991) which earned him another [[BAFTA Award]] nomination.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bafta.org/heritage/features/100-bafta-moments-22-days-to-go |title=100 BAFTA Moments – Alan Rickman Wins His First BAFTA in 1992 |date=17 January 2015 |website=[[British Academy Film Awards]] |access-date=14 January 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122022536/https://www.bafta.org/heritage/features/100-bafta-moments-22-days-to-go |archive-date=22 January 2015}}</ref> The film, directed by [[Anthony Minghella]] and starring Rickman and [[Juliet Stevenson]], proved to be a critical success. Rickman was able to break out of the mould of the movie villain, with critic [[Roger Ebert]] noting, "The man is Rickman, who you will look at on the screen, and know you have seen somewhere, and rattle your memory all during the movie without making the connection that he was the villain in ''Die Hard''."<ref>{{cite web |title=Reviews: Truly Madly Deeply |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/truly-madly-deeply-1991 |website=Roger Ebert.com |access-date=6 August 2022}}</ref> Rickman also starred in [[Stephen Poliakoff]]'s ''[[Close My Eyes (film)|Close My Eyes]]'' (1991) with [[Clive Owen]] and [[Saskia Reeves]]. [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] of ''[[Chicago Reader|The Chicago Reader]]'' praised the film and all three lead performances, calling them "edgy, powerful, and wholly convincing, with Rickman a particular standout."<ref>{{cite news|title=Close My Eyes|url=https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/close-my-eyes/|work=Chicago Reader|date=13 February 1992|access-date=25 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205102432/https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/close-my-eyes/|archive-date=5 December 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> All three of Rickman's performances in ''Close My Eyes'', ''Truly Madly Deeply'' and ''Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'' would win him the [[Evening Standard British Film Awards|Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor]], and the same performances along with his work in ''Quigley Down Under'' would also win him the [[London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actor of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103129/awards/|title=Truly Madly Deeply|work=IMDb|access-date=25 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425092302/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103129/awards/|archive-date=25 April 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1995, he was cast as [[Colonel Brandon]] in ''[[Sense and Sensibility (film)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', [[Ang Lee]]'s film adaptation of [[Jane Austen]]'s [[Sense and Sensibility|novel]]. The film also starred [[Emma Thompson]], [[Hugh Grant]], and [[Kate Winslet]]. Thompson noted that Rickman could express the "extraordinary sweetness [of] his nature," as he had played "Machiavellian types so effectively" in other films.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Emma |title=The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film |date=1995 |publisher=Newmarket Press |isbn=978-1-55704-260-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SOwmAQAAIAAJ |page=269}}</ref> For his performance, Rickman earned his third [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] nomination and his first [[Screen Actors Guild Award]] nomination. The following year he portrayed [[Éamon de Valera]] in the [[Neil Jordan]] period drama, ''[[Michael Collins (film)|Michael Collins]]'' starring [[Liam Neeson]], [[Julia Roberts]], and [[Stephen Rea]]. Rickman earned his fourth [[BAFTA Award]] nomination. In 1996, Rickman starred as the "mad monk" [[Rasputin]] in the HBO television biopic ''[[Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny]],'' a role for which he won a [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie]], a [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie]], and a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/alan-rickman|title=Alan Rickman|work=Television Academy|access-date=26 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017182543/http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/alan-rickman|archive-date=17 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rickman directed ''[[The Winter Guest]]'' at London's [[Almeida Theatre]] in 1995 and the film version of the same play, released in 1997, starring Emma Thompson and her real-life mother [[Phyllida Law]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Film: Em and Phyllida keep it in the family|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/film-em-and-phyllida-keep-it-in-the-family-1137560.html|work=The Independent|date=15 January 2015|access-date=23 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205042053/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/film-em-and-phyllida-keep-it-in-the-family-1137560.html|archive-date=5 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Rickman's stage performances in the 1990s include ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'' in 1998 as [[Mark Antony]], with <!-- Not a DBE/Dame until 2003. -->[[Helen Mirren]] as [[Cleopatra]], in the [[Royal National Theatre]]'s production at the [[Royal National Theatre#Olivier Theatre|Olivier Theatre]] in London, which ran from October to December 1998. Rickman appeared in ''[[Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings]]'' (2000), a [[BBC One]] Christmas special with [[Victoria Wood]], playing an aged colonel in the battle of Waterloo who is forced to break off his engagement to [[Honeysuckle Weeks]]' character.<ref>
{{cite web  | title =Christmas TV's First Ladies  | publisher =[[BBC News]]  | date =25 December 2000 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/1081854.stm | access-date = 27 November 2021 }}</ref>

During his career, Rickman played comedic roles, including as Sir Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus in the cult classic sci-fi parody ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'' (1999) with [[Tim Allen]], [[Sigourney Weaver]], [[Sam Rockwell]], and [[Tony Shalhoub]]. Rockwell said that Rickman "was very instrumental in making sure the script hit the dramatic notes, and everything had a strong logic and reason behind it".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dreamworks-screwed-up-why-galaxy-quest-wasnt-a-bigger-hit-1264866| title = DreamWorks "Screwed Up": Why Cult Classic 'Galaxy Quest' Wasn't a Bigger Hit | first = Byron | last =Burton | date = 24 December 2019 | access-date = 30 December 2019 | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] }}</ref> He also played the angel [[Metatron]], the voice of God, in [[Kevin Smith]]'s ''[[Dogma (film)|Dogma]]'' (also 1999).<ref>{{cite news|title=''In the Beginning... The Story of Dogma''|author=Kevin Smith|date=25 October 2000}}</ref>