'A lifetime seems to have passed in minutes': Beloved actor, Alan Rickman dies at 69, after secret battle with cancer

Several posts wishing his family well and a flurry of beautiful and touching messages have been storming social media since the news was delivered Thursday morning.

British actor Alan Rickman, lovingly known for his numerous roles in dramas, comedies, romantic comedies, musicals and theater performances, passed away January 14.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The prominent actor died at only 69-years-old and was reportedly suffering from cancer.

Though he has been gone less than twelve hours, several comments of support have been cropping up from fellow actors, directors, friends, family and even authors.

Director Ang Lee, who worked with Rickman in "Sense and Sensibility," called him a "brilliant actor ... a soulful actor ... [and] a great human being."

Jason Isaacs, a young actor who worked with Rickman, took to Twitter to write, "Heartbreaking news about lovely Alan. Nobody else could be as hilarious, tragic, terrifying and truthful all at the same time #RIPAlanRickman."

The most notable comment came from Sir Michael Gambon, who described Rickman as "always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny. He had a great voice, he spoke wonderfully well.

"He was intelligent, he wrote plays, he directed a play. So he was a real man of the theater and the stage and that's how I think of Alan."

The flurry of loving comments continue to come in as people realize what happened and hearts are breaking across the world.

Several of Rickman's performances are close to the heart and bring about a strong sense of nostalgia for all ages.

His first major role was as Hans Gruber in the 1988 film "Die Hard," and was the first of three memorable antagonist roles. The other two are the despicable Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and 1995's HBO release of "Rasputin."

His very first acting role was as Tybalt in the BBC production of "Romeo and Juliet," and his final role was as a voice actor in the recently completed film, "Alice Through the Looking Glass."

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