Alan Rickman Didn’t Want To Be Typecast
In a new interview with AV Club, “Sorcerer’s Stone” director Chris Columbus opens up about how he and producer David Heyman found their cast for the film, revealing that Alan Rickman was much more difficult to cast than many of his co-stars. “He was reluctant because he didn’t want to be typecast as a villain, particularly after ‘Die Hard,’ and I guess ‘Robin Hood ,'” Columbus revealed.
The filmmakers were ultimately able to convince him, but it was insight from herself that influenced Rickman’s portrayal of Snape. ” took him out to dinner and told him something about what was going to happen to Snape throughout the series and in the seventh book,” Columbus shared. This, as any Potterhead knows, refers to the reveal that Snape was deeply in love with Lily Potter, Harry’s mother, and had been protecting Harry ever since her death.
Rickman kept quiet about these twists though, allowing them only to be hinted at with “tiny little idiosyncrasies with his performance” . He didn’t even share the secret plot details with Columbus, who only saw how “brilliant” his acting choices were once he read the final “Harry Potter” book.
Indeed, the “Harry Potter” films would never be what they are without the enormous talent of Rickman, and we’ll always cherish his performance as Snape.
Tim Roth Turned Down The Job
Tim Roth is a fantastic actor who has had plenty of success in the movie industry. Before Rickman was able to officially land the role of Severus Snape, Roth was actually offered the part!
Ultimately, Roth would turn down the chance to play Snape. It is hard to imagine any person declining the chance to appear in a franchise of films, especially considering how hard it can be to get work in Hollywood, but Roth decided that it was best to focus on other things instead.
During a Reddit AMA, Roth would say, Do I regret it? I don’t know if I ever think about things that way. If I had done it, everything would have changed. That’s the nature of the randomness of life. It would have been nice to have a 7 year gig, that’s a nice and comforting space to be in. But no, I think the better man for the job did the job.
The studio was still in need of a Professor Snape, and it would not take long for them to eventually cast Rickman in the role. Now that he was locked in and Rowling was getting to see her vision come to life, it was time for the acclaimed actor to deliver the goods on the big screen.
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Harry Potter Star Alan Rickman Was One Of Only People Who Knew Snape’s Secrets And Refused To Share
The true intentions of Severus Snape came as a shock to Harry Potter fans around the globe when they finally saw his story come to an end. While the Hogwarts professor had acted as an antagonist to Harry throughout the books and movies, and it seemed to readers and viewers like he was one of the villains, he was actually protecting the young man the entire time because of the love he had for Lily Potter. Very few people knew where Snape’s story was going, even in the early days of the film franchise. But author J.K. Rowling trusted the late Alan Rickman with the whole story before it had been published, and he managed to keep it a secret from everyone.
Rickman played Snape, one of the most pivotal characters in Harry Potter’s story, in each of the live-action movies. Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as the titular young wizard, shared plenty of scenes with Rickman over the years, and he recently revealed that Rickman knew all of Snape’s secrets the entire time.
During the Return to Hogwarts 20th Anniversary special on HBO Max, Radcliffe talked with former co-star Gary Oldman about his experiences with Rickman. According to Radcliffe, no one in the cast or crew knew about how their stories would end, because not all of the Harry Potter books had been published at the time. Rickman, however, was given all of the information by Rowling, because his character was a bit of a double agent, and he felt he needed to know the endgame.
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Alan Rickman Was About To Quit The Harry Potter Series Then Jk Rowling Told Him A Secret About Snape
After appearing as the sinister Professor Snape in two Harry Potter films, actor Alan Rickman didnt feel compelled to return to play a character that he believed was nothing more than an unchanging costume. But then JK Rowling told him a secret about Snape, one that would only be revealed to fans many years later. She told him the meaning behind the word always.
As part of a special feature commemorating the conclusion of the Harry Potter franchise in 2011, Rickman narrated the story to Empire magazine. I have just returned from the dubbing studio where I spoke into a microphone as Severus Snape for absolutely the last time. On the screen were some flashback shots of Daniel, Emma and Rupert from ten years ago. They were 12. I have also recently returned from New York, and while I was there, I saw Daniel singing and dancing on Broadway. A lifetime seems to have passed in minutes.
He continued, Three children have become adults since a phone call with Jo Rowling, containing one small clue, persuaded me that there was more to Snape than an unchanging costume, and that even though only three of the books were out at that time, she held the entire massive but delicate narrative in the surest of hands. It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo.
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Harry Potter And The Half
In the second chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy visit Snape at his home in Spinner’s End. Narcissa’s son Draco has been given a difficult task by Voldemort, and Narcissa swears Snape to an Unbreakable Vow that he will protect Draco, help him complete Voldemort’s task, and finish the task himself if Draco fails. When questioned by Bellatrix about his loyalties, Snape says he has been working for Voldemort ever since Voldemort’s return, and explains his actions in the previous books in that light. He points out that gaining Dumbledore’s trust and protection has kept him out of Azkaban and free to operate on Voldemort’s behalf.
Later, during a fight with Draco, Harry casts one of the Prince’s spells marked “For Enemies,” and is horrified by the devastating wounds it inflicts to Draco’s face and chest. Snape rushes to the scene and heals Draco, then interrogates Harry regarding the spell, using Legilimency to extract the source of Harry’s knowledge from Harry’s mind. When Snape insists that Harry show him his Potions textbook, Harry hides the Prince’s book and gives him Ron Weasley‘s book instead. As punishment for the attack and knowing Harry is lying about the textbook, Snape assigns Harry detention during the final Quidditch match of the year.
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Alan Rickman Was Over The Franchise
As crazy as it sounds, Rickman was ready to move on from the Harry Potter franchise after wrapping up production for the second movie in 2002. We should note that the first installment, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, had accumulated an eye-watering $1 billion at the box office, becoming one of the biggest movies of 2001.
Its follow-up with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 pulled in another $880 million, so it was evidently clear that Warner Bros. Pictures had an enormous hit on their hands and they were only two movies into the seven-part novel .
When Chamber of Secrets had entered cinemas, Rowling only had four of the seven novels published, so fans werent aware that Snape was going to become much more than an antagonist to Harry , Ronald Weasley , and Hermione Granger .
So, naturally being the actor that he was, Rickman felt his role as Snape wasnt going to progress by any means: He didnt want to play the same character for the duration of the franchise and not see some sort of character development.
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With The Ipod In The Great Hall
The actor, wearing a long, bulky cape, hid his iPod to listen to music while filming the scenes in the Great Hall. The wig he had to wear to play Snape also helps him keep his headphones out of sight.
Young actors such as Oliver Phelps and Evanna Lynch remember Rickman asking them how to use their iPod, on the days when he received the device as a gift. Actor Warwick Davis jokingly said how he saw Rickman arrive at the table in impressive form, and then the mystery vanished when he discovered the device with which he listened to music.
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Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In the fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Snape returns to a more prominent role. With Voldemort having returned to a fully corporeal body, Snape continues working as a re-doubled agent for Dumbledore. He is seen prior to the start of school at Number 12, Grimmauld Place giving reports to the Order of the Phoenix. He has a very strained relationship with Sirius, who owns Grimmauld Place and must remain there in hiding. The two trade frequent snide remarks and at one point almost begin a duel. Snape taunts Sirius about the latter’s not being able to take an active role in the Order’s missions because of his fugitive status. Harry feels later that this taunting contributed to Sirius’ willingness to take unsafe risks. Back at school, Snape’s allegiance to the Order has no effect on his dislike for Harry.
Later in the book, Dumbledore has Snape teach Harry Occlumency, the protection of the mind from outside intrusion or influence. The sessions are made difficult by their mutual hostility and end prematurely when Harry uses Dumbledore’s Pensieve to view one of Snape’s worst childhood memories without the latter’s permission. He sees the memory of Snape being bullied by James and Sirius, and of calling Harry’s mother Lily a Mudblood . Only in the final book is it revealed that, prior to this confrontation, Snape and Lily had been close friends.
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
Snape’s role in the fourth novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is not substantially different from that of the previous three books. He is apoplectic when Harry is unexpectedly entered into the Triwizard Tournament. Later Harry accidentally falls into Dumbledore’s Pensieve and views memories of several Death Eater trials from years before. At one point, Snape is named as a Death Eater by Igor Karkaroff, but Dumbledore comes to Snape’s defence, claiming that although Snape had indeed been a Death Eater, he changed sides before Voldemort’s downfall and turned spy against him. Later, Dumbledore assures Harry that Snape’s reformation is genuine, though he refuses to tell Harry how he knows this, saying the information “is a matter between Professor Snape and myself”.
At the end of the book, Dumbledore attempts to convince a disbelieving Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that Voldemort has returned. As proof, Snape willingly shows Fudge the restored Dark Mark on his arm. He is subsequently sent on a secret mission by Dumbledore. This mission, as had been implied in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was to rejoin the Death Eaters and spy on Voldemort as a re-doubled agent, while pretending to spy on Dumbledore on behalf of Voldemort.
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Alan Rickman Was Only Person Who Knew About Snape’s True Nature In Harry Potter
19:59, 28 December 2021 GMT| Last updated 19:59, 28 December 2021 GMT
Alan Rickman was the only person to have the âinside lineâ on his characterâs true nature in the Harry Potter books and film series, having been told by J.K. Rowling early on.
Rickman, who sadly died in 2016 at the age of 69, famously portrayed Hogwarts professor Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter films, with fans only finding out that Snape was actually a double agent working to protect Potter in the final book and the second of the accompanying two-part film adaptation.
In Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, his former co-stars speak about how much they had known about the future narrative while filming, with Sirius Black actor Gary Oldman saying he wishes heâd had the âwhole pictureâ.
Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular wizard in the films, also admits he didnât know everything either.
âJust Rickman,â Radcliffe tells Oldman in the forthcoming reunion special.
âHe had the inside line. He very, very early said to Jo, he was like, âI think I need to know what happensâ.â
Oldman laughs: âRickman would have an in, wouldnât he?!â
Radcliffe continues: âAnd he never told Chris , he never told anyone. Chris would literally say to him, why are you doing that like that? He was like Iâll tell you later…â
Because Rickman had more information about Snape than he did, the actor would include ‘tiny little idiosyncrasies’ in his performance.
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What Did Rowling Tell Rickman
In the final movie in the Harry Potter franchise, fans learned that Snape was a double agent and was actually helping Harry, Hermione, and Ron the entire time. Not only was he acting on Dumbledores orders, but he was also madly in love with Harrys mom, Lily, which is why he wanted to help Harry in the first place.
When Dumbledore discovered Snapes love for Lily, he asked him,After all this time? to which Snape replied, Always.This was featured in the book as well as the film adaptation, though fans werenot aware of this until after they were released.
Following Rickmans passing, and revealed exactly what she told the actor to keep him playing Snape. Rowling shared that she told him about Snapes love for Lily and what the word always meant.
I told Alan what lies behind the word always, she wrote.
Rickman passed away at the beginning of 2016 after a short battlewith pancreatic cancer. His final two movies were Eye in the Sky and AliceThrough the Looking Glass. After his death, fans built a memorial in hismemory at Kings Cross station near the 9 3/4s sign.
Snapes Role In Harry Potter
Alan Rickmans portrayal of Severus Snape is memorable, and yet, other actors had been considered by Warner. However, when looking at JK Rowlings preparatory sketches for the character of Snape, this reinforces us in the idea that Alan Rickman was an excellent choice to play the role of Snape.
On the other hand, what we did not know, is that the actor was not very excited at the start to play the character on the big screen. And JK Rowling was able to change her mind.
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Did Alan Rickman Enjoy Playing Snape
After appearing as the sinister Professor Snape in two Harry Potter films, actor Alan Rickman didnt feel compelled to return to play a character that he believed was nothing more than an unchanging costume. But then JK Rowling told him a secret about Snape, one that would only be revealed to fans many years later.
Harry Potter: Return To Hogwarts Pays Tribute To Alan Rickman In The Climax
The climax of Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts honoured Alan Rickman whose portrayal of Severus Snape is hailed even today. The special episode ended by showing the scene between Rickman’s Severus Snape and Dumbledore where the former reveals that his Patronus assumed the same shape as that of Harry Potter’s mother Lily, whom she loved all along. After all this time? asks Dumbledore and Snape replies, Always.”
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Why Alan Rickman Was The Only Actor To Get Harry Potter Spoilers
Alan Rickman knew the future storyline in Harry Potter before anyone else, including the saga’s directors – here’s why.
Alan Rickman was the only actor to get Harry Potter spoilers as early as the first of the eight-movie saga, and here’s why. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts sees the Harry Potter stars – including the Golden Trio – gather on the original sets to look back at the franchise’s legacy and the making of the films, and they sometimes surprise each other with personal memories and big reveals from the 2001-2011 decade.
Perhaps inevitably, there are some main Harry Potter actors missing from Return to Hogwarts, including Michael Gambon , Maggie Smith , David Thewlis , and Julie Walters . But the Harry Potter reunion especially noted the absence of those who, tragically, are not around anymore. Return to Hogwarts offered a great tribute to the Wizarding World actors who have sadly died since The Deathly Hallows, with a special focus on Helen McCrory and Alan Rickman . But apart from a touching tribute, Alan Rickman was also the center of discussions when Daniel Radcliffe and Gary Oldman confirmed some old rumors about him.
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