Alan Rickman is the most powerful and sexiest character actor to emerge from Britain in the last decade. Having established himself as a major classical stage actor Rickman transferred to the Hollywood screen with a glint in his eye and a sly smile. From Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Robin Hood to Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense & Sensibility and Die Hard he has proved himself the most interesting and versatile British actor of his generation.
He inspires devotion and adoration in his fans and colleagues, and yet what exactly lies behind that sly smile? Is he as difficult as his reputation suggests? How similar is he to the seductively wicked villains he specializes in, and how true is he to his political ideals? Maureen Paton explores the actor's closely guarded private life and goes beyond the public persona to find the real Rickman, the working class boy.

Maureen Paton's biography uncovers the tracks of his professional, political and emotional past to finally reveal this most secret of stars