Actor Alan Rickman, who died in 2016, is remembered especially for the character of Severus Snape.
Beloved actor Alan Rickman died of cancer at the age of 69, in January 2016. The award-winning actor is remembered from theater stages and numerous films, but perhaps the most significant of the roles was Harry Potter -the Severus Snape of the wizarding world.
Did you know that Rickman almost quit acting in his favorite movies? He was already considering withdrawing from the role Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets during the production of the film (2002). One of the reasons for this was the seemingly endless filming and their chaotic nature.
In his diary entries, published as a book in 2022, Rickman recalls how the film’s director, Alfonso Cuarón, acted under enormous “Harry Potter pressure”. The director had to teach the young actors even before the cameras were rolling.
The main stars of the films Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were still 11-13 years old at the time. The early stages of Watson’s career in particular had impressed the actor’s mind.
– Those children needed guidance. They didn’t know their turns and Emma Watson’s delivery sounded like she came from the Albanian hinterlands.
At Hogwarts, Severus Snape is a mystical teacher of potions and later also protection from the forces of darkness. PDO
Serious health concerns
Rickman suffered from terminal pancreatic cancer in secret from the public. Cancer was not the first for the actor, as he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer in 2005. Rickman had undergone cancer treatments just before the fifth part of the film series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixdescriptions.
Despite illness and thoughts of quitting, Rickman played Professor Snape for a whole ten years – until the last Harry Potter film.
Emmy- and BAFTA-winning Rickman is also remembered for his roles in films Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood – Prince of Thieves (1991) and Only love (2003).
The hero actor’s career had many twists and turns, and Rickman’s widow Rima Horton told Guradian last year that he was delighted that the man’s memoirs would be published. Rickman and Horton were together since 1965 and married in 2012 after 47 years of dating.
– The diaries tell about the actor Alan Rickman, but also about the real Alan – about his humor, accurate observations, professionalism and dedication to art, Horton stated at the time.
Edited by the book Alan Taylor described the work compiled from Rickman’s diaries as witty, gossipy and very open.
– He wrote in his diary as if he was talking to a good friend. They are intimate, perceptive and really funny, the publishing house announced.
Alan Rickman at the London premiere of A Little Chaos in 2015. HANNAH MCKAY, AOP
Death touched
Rickman’s death touched both the Harry Potter working community and the whole world.
– I have no words to express how shocked and broken I am by Alan Rickman’s death. He was an incredible actor and a wonderful person, Harry Potter series creator JK Rowling wrote on Twitter at the time.
Among the fans, the actor’s passing also aroused disbelief.
– I can’t believe that Alan Rickman is gone! Rest in peace Alan!
– After all this? Always. Rest in peace Alan Rickman, one fan stated.
With this phrase, he referred to perhaps Severus Snape’s most poignant plot pattern.
Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore and Snape visit Deathly Hallows -part of the conversation, where it becomes clear that Snape has loved Harry Potter’s mother, the late Lily, all his life.
A work compiled from Alan Rickman’s diary entries Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman published on October 4, 2022.