The Stars Of "Harry Potter" Have Paid Beautiful Tribute To Alan Rickman

The stars of the Harry Potter series have paid tribute to the late British thespian Alan Rickman, who died overnight following complications from cancer.

He was 69 years old.

To an entire generation, Rickman was best known for playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series. (Though, to this writer and many others, he will forever be Die Hard’s Hans Gruber.)

Once news of Rickman’s surprise passing circulated, his co-stars from the Potter series began offering condolences and sharing fond memories across social media.

Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe, offered this message on Google Plus.

“Alan Rickman is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with. He is also, one of the loyalest and most supportive people I've ever met in the film industry. He was so encouraging of me both on set and in the years post-Potter. I'm pretty sure he came and saw everything I ever did on stage both in London and New York. He didn't have to do that. I know other people who've been friends with him for much much longer than I have and they all say ‘if you call Alan, it doesn't matter where in the world he is or how busy he is with what he's doing, he'll get back to you within a day’.”

(You can read the full thing here.)

Emma Watson, aka Hermione Granger, shared her sadness on Facebook.

The third member of their triumvirate, Rupert Grint, posted the following to Instagram, as did Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom).

#ripalanrickman

A photo posted by Rupert Grint (@rupertgrint) on Jan 14, 2016 at 10:46am PST

I was at Leavesden Studios today when I heard the news. As I walked through the canteen I thought of Alan queuing up for his lunch with us mere mortals. I recalled the trailer in which he offered me some of the greatest advice I ever received about this mad profession we shared. Being back in those corridors made me remember a lot of things and I will treasure those memories all my life. He inspired my career more than he ever knew and I'll miss him.

A photo posted by Matthew Lewis (@realmattdavelewis) on Jan 14, 2016 at 7:07am PST

Luna Lovegood – otherwise known as Evanna Lynch – followed suit on Twitter.

Am not prepared for a world without Alan Rickman. Such a beautiful soul. He was so kind & generous in the moments he wasn't Snaping about.❤️

— Evanna Lynch (@Evy_Lynch) January 14, 2016

I'll also never forget how scary it was to accidentally bump into him as Snape. And how he made us love Snape so much!❤️Rest in peace, Alan.

— Evanna Lynch (@Evy_Lynch) January 14, 2016

Emma Thompson, who not only appeared opposite Rickman in Harry Potter but also Love Actually, Sense and Sensibility and Judas Kiss, went the more traditional route by sharing a statement to People.

"Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye... What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness. The intransigence which made him the great artist he was – his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view."

This has been a tough week.