Harry Potter ended a decade ago, but there is still so much to learn about the film and book series.
While we still remember the impressive acting of much of the cast, it’s the late, great Alan Rickman’s performance as Professor Snape that will always stand out.
Despite being a terrifying Snape, the actor was nothing of the sort behind the scenes. Check out these 15 stories from his time on the Harry Potter set.
1. When Rupert Grint drew a funny picture of him, he kept it
One day, Rupert Grint was doodling on set, unaware that Alan Rickman was standing over his shoulder.
Despite worrying that Rickman would be angry about a caricature of himself, it turned out he loved it. He even had the young actor sign it.
2. He was somewhat of a method actor
Alan Rickman made sure to get into character well before the cameras started rolling.
Turning into the grumpy Professor Snape so easily intimidated some of his younger costars, but it was also a built-in acting lesson for them.
3. He got to share his input on the iconic costume
When you think of Alan Rickman, most people think of Snape’s billowing and intense cloaks.
Well, it turns out that he got some say in what he wore. He once recalled: “I said the sleeves should be really tight, and there should be a lot of buttons.”
4. He gave Daniel Radcliffe a very famous book
And no, not Harry Potter. Rickman once gifted Daniel Radcliffe a copy of the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye.
We know this because Daniel’s thank you note to his actor friend was sold off and made public.
5. He advised his young stars on their careers
Many of the younger Harry Potter actors have stories about Rickman giving them professional advice.
The actor who played Neville Longbottom went so far as to say: “He inspired my career more than he ever knew”
6. When his co-stars spilled a milkshake in his car, he banned them from being near it
Rickman was as protective of his car as he was of his young coworkers.
After Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis accidentally spilled a milkshake in his BMW during filming, Rickman came back around with a new rule for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Grint and Lewis were not allowed within 5 meters of his car.
7. At his request, a child fighting cancer was put in the movie
When a young fan who was battling cancer came to set for a tour, Rickman went the extra mile to make his dreams come true.
The child was visiting the set, but he really wanted to be in the film they were shooting. So Rickman spoke to the director and producers and got the child cast as an extra in a scene.
8. He had a great relationship with Daniel Radcliffe
Although they played onscreen adversaries, Daniel Radcliffe remembers Alan Rickman more for his kindness and the fact that he treated the young actor as a peer.
This level of support continued after Harry Potter ended, as Rickman made sure to keep up with all of Radcliffe’s acting projects.
9. He and Radcliffe were even close enough for fart pranks
Rickman set up a fart machine during one of the Prisoner of Azkaban scenes that Daniel Radcliffe was acting in.
Michael Gambon and Alfonso Cuaron were also in on the joke, and they snuck a remote-controlled fart machine into a sleeping bag Radcliffe was using for a scene.
10. Sometimes he was frustrated with his role and the director’s choices
In more letters that were made public after Rickman’s death, he mentioned moments of frustration and differences of opinion between himself and the director’s choices.
While his letters don’t go into detail they include sentences like: “It’s as if David Yates has decided that this is not important in the scheme of things i.e. teen audience appeal.”
11. He wore black contacts to play Snape
Rickman was dedicated to doing everything he could to get into the proper headspace of playing Snape.
He says the costumes helped him with that: “Something happens to you when you have a very strong costume. You go inward.”
12. His costumes secretly got bigger
Although Alan Rickman gave a lot of input into his costumes on Harry Potter, he may not have been aware of the fact that the costumers let out his costumes after he got back from vacation.
Costume designer Jany Temime confirmed that that was the only change they made to his costume for the entire film series.
13. He always knew the truth about Snape
The word “Always” is pretty iconic among Harry Potter fans nowadays, but back in the late 90s, only Alan Rickman and JK Rowling knew what it meant in this context. That’s because, in order to do justice to the character and Rickman’s acting, Rowling wanted him to know about Snape’s great love.
Rickman kept that secret for over a decade.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alan Rickman’s aesthetics (@_alan_sidney_patrick_rickman_)
14. He went out of his way to spend time with the children on the set
Actress Evanna Lynch recalled this memory about Rickman: “It was odd that any of the adult actors would lunch in the canteen, but odder still that Snape would, surrounded by a group of giddy little girls and boys.”
That’s so sweet!
15. Despite there being two actors who played Dumbledore, Rickman believed they were equally good
While some people debate over which actor played Dumbledore the best, Alan Rickman insisted that they were Michael Gambon and Richard Harris were both supremely talented actors and that working with two Dumbledores was actually a “gift“.
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