Alan Rickman excelled at playing villains. To be more specific, Alan Rickman was unrivaled in his ability to portray vile characters. He elevated the role of the villain in a story to the level of art. To him, it was perfectly normal.
Rickman, who plays Snape, is a veteran actor who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has won numerous awards for his work on stage and screen. According to reports, he was both respectful and funny about the role's monumental significance to the Harry Potter fandom.
Rickman died of pancreatic cancer in January 2016. As a way to remember everyone's favorite potions master, Alan Rickman, let's look back at some of the stories from behind the scenes of Harry Potter and his real relationship with Daniel Radcliffe and the rest of the cast.
9 Alan Rickman Made Sure A Sick Kid Got Cast As An Extra In Harry Potter
A young man named Jay, who was diagnosed with terminal neuroblastoma, came to the set of Prisoner of Azkaban to offer moral support to the cast and crew. Rickman ensured the kid was in the film by playing his part. Paula DuPré Pesman, a producer, shared this incredible tale on HuffPost.
Jay longed to be a full cast member, not just a spectator. Even though the producer had arrived at the set, he mentioned that they would be unable to proceed in that direction. Jay was overjoyed when Rickman walked up to him and introduced himself.
When talking to Rickman, Jay revealed that being a part of the movie was his ultimate goal. While in character as Snape, Rickman asked the producer, "Why isn't this child in the film?" The actor Rickman led him through the throng of children. There is a shot of him, but it only shows his back.
As Jay watched Professor Lupin (David Thewlis) teach his boggart class in Prisoner of Azkaban, he found himself in the middle of the action. Jay did not miss Rickman's affectionate gesture, even though the scene did not make it to the final cut of the film.
8 Alan Rickman Loved Playing Pranks On The Harry Potter Cast Members
While filming Prisoner of Azkaban, Rickman played a hilarious practical joke on co-star Daniel Radcliffe. All of Harry's friends were spread out in sleeping bags in the Great Hall for a sleepover.
A remote-controlled fart machine was hidden in Radcliffe's sleeping bag and activated at inopportune times by Rickman.
Afterward, Radcliffe reflected, "I immediately thought this was one of the other kids messing around, and we were going to get in trouble.” He continued, "But as it turns out, it was one of the members of Britain's acting royalty."
7 Alan Rickman Looked Out For Daniel Radcliffe And The Young Actors On Harry Potter
Rickman knew from experience that it could be difficult for young actors to make a living in the entertainment industry. Several of his co-stars have spoken highly of the career and personal guidance he provided.
Playing Neville Longbottom, actor Matthew Lewis remarked, "He offered me some of the greatest advice I ever received about this mad profession we shared. He inspired my career more than he ever knew."
When asked who he looked up to, Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) said Rickman. The actor who played Oliver Wood, Sean Biggerstaff, wrote on Twitter, "He looked out for me for 20 years, and I loved him."
6 Alan Rickman Kept A Funny Sketch Of Himself Drawn By Rupert Grint
One day on set, Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) was busy drawing cartoons. Grint didn't notice Snape standing behind him as he worked on Rickman's portrait.
As Grint put it, "I was so scared," because he had "exaggerated a few of his features" in the sketch. But Rickman wasn't the least bit upset; quite the contrary. In fact, Rickman found it so appealing that he carried it around with him on set.
"I made him sign it, and I have it in my possession," Rickman said, full of pride and admiration. "I'm very fond of it."
5 Alan Rickman Often Visited With Children On Set
Even if Rickman was intimidating to his coworkers, they were quick to point out that he was also very generous and kind. Children who came to the Harry Potter film sets often found him there, and he would strike up conversations with them.
"Alan Rickman had a whole troop of little children visiting him pretty much every day of filming," said Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood).
She went on to say that it was "the most bizarre scene" to see Snape in his black robe with a group of smiling children chatting happily with him. The late Alan Rickman was "a great gentleman," as described by Rupert Grint.
4 Alan Rickman Treated Daniel Radcliffe Like A Peer, Not A Child
Many of Rickman's fellow actors and actresses from the Harry Potter cast and beyond have publicly mourned his death.
Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe paid a moving tribute to Alan Rickman in The Washington Post, calling him "undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with" and "one of the most loyal and supportive people I've ever met in the film industry."
He went on to say, “As an actor, he was one of the first of the adults on Potter to treat me like a peer rather than a child. Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important, and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career. Film sets and theater stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man.”
3 Alan Rickman Took Rupert Grint And Matthew Lewis Out For Milkshakes
During the filming of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Rickman allegedly forbade co-stars Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis from getting within five meters of his new BMW.
Why is that? When Rickman took the two out for milkshakes during the filming of an earlier film, one of the actors accidentally spilled the contents inside the car.
One Reddit user, who also happens to be a Harry Potter fan, put it this way, "The idea that Alan Rickman was taking Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis out for a milkshake makes me so happy. He seemed like such a nice guy."
2 Timothy Spall Said Alan Rickman Charmed His Mother-In-Law
Actor Timothy Spall, who played Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films, praised his former co-star's ability to convincingly portray sinister and formidable characters in a Looper interview for his 2022 film The Last Bus.“The man himself was so different; he was so warm and so genuinely kind.”
Spall claimed that even on days when Rickman wasn't filming, he would bring his own children to the set and that Rickman was especially nice to his mother-in-law. He said, “On one occasion, he met my mother-in-law, who was with my wife. He wasn't used to meeting anybody apart from me, and he was absolutely charming with her.”
1 Alan Rickman Gave Daniel Radcliffe A Copy Of The Catcher In The Rye
Personal letters written by Rickman were released to the public in 2018. In return, Rickman received several letters of gratitude, including one from Daniel Radcliffe, who had been given a copy of The Catcher in the Rye as a gift by the late actor.
"I can't wait to read it," Radcliffe wrote. The letters also showed that Rickman had moments of discontent with his portrayal of Snape.
"I know, at times, you are frustrated, but please know that you are an integral part of the films," producer David Heyman wrote to him. "And you are brilliant."
