Celebrities react to Alan Rickman's death

Alan Rickman, the actor best known for playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, has died at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer, his family confirmed Thursday.

As news of his death spread, celebrities and fans alike took to social media to pay tribute to Rickman, whose expansive credits included memorable and often villainous characters on both the stage and screen.

J.K. Rowling tweeted that he was a "magnificent actor and a wonderful man."

Daniel Radcliffe reflected about Rickman on Google Plus, saying, "People create perceptions of actors based on the parts they played so it might surprise some people to learn that contrary to some of the sterner(or downright scary) characters he played, Alan was extremely kind, generous, self-deprecating and funny."

The word "Always," Snape's most famous line, began trending as fans of the Harry Potter franchise expressed their grief.

Even companies honored the actor, such as Tumblr's solemn reference to a death scene in the series.

Some alluded to the death of David Bowie Sunday night, who also died at age 69 of cancer.

Here are highlights of what celebrities are saying about the actor's death.

"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."