Emma Thompson on Alan Rickman's death: 'He was the ultimate ally'

Emma Thompson, who costarred with Alan Rickman in nine films, including Harry Potter and Love Actually, shared a touching tribute to the actor following his death.

“Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye,” Thompson said in statement. “What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humor, intelligence, wisdom and kindness. His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word. 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. I learned a lot from him.”

The longtime friends costarred in Ang Lee’s 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility and have since appeared together in Judas Kiss, Love Actually, The Song of Lunch, and the Harry Potter films. Thompson also starred in Rickman’s 1997 directorial debut, The Winter Guest.

“He was the finest of actors and directors,” Thompson continued. “I couldn’t wait to see what he was going to do with his face next. I consider myself hugely privileged to have worked with him so many times and to have been directed by him. He was the ultimate ally. In life, art and politics. I trusted him absolutely. He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again.”