Alan Rickman dead: Emma Watson shares feminist tribute to fellow Harry Potter actor

Watson wrote that she felt 'so lucky to have worked and spent time with such a special man and actor'

Michael Gambon, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Alan Rickman at the New York premiere for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2009 (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Emma Watson has paid tribute to Alan Rickman by posting a feminist quote where he speaks of the "mutual advantage" of men proclaiming themselves as feminists.

The actress who starred alongside Rickman in the Harry Potter franchises from 2001 to 2011 posted a poignant image when paying tribute to Rickman who has died aged 69 after suffering from cancer.

The image of Rickman is alongside a caption which quotes the actor saying: “There is nothing wrong with a man being a feminist, I think it is to our mutual advantage.”

The message was posted after Watson wrote of her sadness at hearing the news and said she will miss their conversations.

I'm very sad to hear about Alan today. I feel so lucky to have worked and spent time with such a special man and actor. I'll really miss our conversations. RIP Alan. We love you

Posted by Emma Watson on Thursday, 14 January 2016

The message supports Watson’s United Nations campaign He For She, which encourages men to further women’s rights around the world.

The quote from Rickman is not an anomaly, he vocalised support for women on various occasions.

“I always think feminist just means common sense,” he was quoted by Entertainment Weekly as saying in June last year, and said he does live “in a world and certainly a business that is incredibly unfair to women”.

The comments were on the promotional trail of his 2015 film A Little Chaos, which starred Kate Winslet.

When speaking to Buzzfeed he spoke of how he enjoys working with “strong-minded, brilliant women”, one of whom he said was Winslet and another JK Rowling – whoo wrote of her "shock and devastation" of hearing of his death on Thursday, calling him a “magnificent actor and a wonderful man”.

Rickman is survived by his wife Rima, a Labour party councillor. The couple married in 2011, having been in a relationship for fifty years.