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(#9) He Helped Design His Snape Costume
Snape's billowing cape is one of the character's hallmarks. During the design stage, Rickman gave his input on how the costume should ultimately look. "I was very involved in the costume and the look," he told The New York Times. "I said the sleeves should be really tight, and there should be a lot of buttons."
Rickman admitted the finished product contributed to his understanding of the character. "As soon as I put that costume on something happens. You can't be someone else inside that outline," he said. "It has an effect on me."
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(#14) In His Diaries, He Expressed Hesitation About Continuing To Play Snape
In September 2022, The Guardian printed excerpts from Rickman's 26 volumes of daily diaries, which included many comments about the Harry Potter series, actors, directors, and Rickman's feelings about playing Severus Snape. At times he expressed hesitation about the role.
On December 4, 2002, he wrote:
Talking to [agent] Paul Lyon-Maris about [Harry Potter] exit, which he thinks will happen. But here we are in the project-collision area again. Reiterating no more HP. They don’t want to hear it.
Four years later, he seemed okay with seeing the role through to the end. On January 30, 2006, he wrote:
Finally, yes to HP 5. The sensation is neither up nor down. The argument that wins is the one that says: “See it through. It’s your story.”
Rickman wrote about his death scene as Snape on November 26, 2009:
The Death of Snape. Nearly 10 years later. At least it’s just down to two actors … [Director] David [Yates] is vulnerable and endearing when he’s excited. And he is by this scene. It’s the absolute example of what can happen when a couple of actors pick up a scene off the page and work with the story, the space and each other. Stuart Craig’s boathouse [set] gave it something ironic and everlasting. As I said at one point to David - it’s all a bit epic and Japanese.
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(#7) His Method Acting Intimidated - And Impressed - The Kid Actors On Set
Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood, remembered with a laugh that Rickman "was a method actor, so we were all pretty much terrified of him on set. I just remember him being creepy around the corridors. He didn't smile, and everyone talked about him in a reverent tone." Tom Felton, who portrayed Draco Malfoy, concurred:
I remember my first scene with Alan Rickman and I was anxious because he is a slight "method" actor; as soon as he is in his cloak, he walks and talks like Snape - it is quite terrifying...
After I plucked up the courage, we chatted for about half an hour, and he told me where he got his inspiration from and how he thinks of approaching his lines. It is fascinating for a young actor to be able to talk to your heroes like that. It is priceless.
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(#15) Timothy Spall Said He Charmed His Mother-In-Law
During a Looper interview for his film The Last Bus in 2022, actor Timothy Spall, who played Peter Pettigrew, said that although his former Harry Potter co-star was “brilliant” at playing “sinister" and "formidable” characters, “[t]he man himself was so different; [he] was so warm… so kind, and genuinely kind.”
Rickman, Spall said, often brought children to visit the set even on days he wasn't working, and was particularly kind to Spall's mother-in-law:
On one occasion, he met my mother-in-law, who was with my wife. He wasn't used to meeting really anybody, apart from me, and he was absolutely charming with her.
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(#3) He Listened To His iPod In Some Of The Great Hall Scenes
During some of the Great Hall scenes where Snape was seated at the head of the table, Rickman would sneak an iPod into his voluminous cape and listen to music during filming. "I could just see, sneaking behind his wig and down into his robes, the white wire of some iPod headphones," recalled actor Warwick Davis, who played Professor Flitwick.
He was just quietly listening to something, and I started to wonder, what does Alan Rickman as Professor Snape listen to on his iPod? An audiobook? Some Shakespeare? Some classical music? Europop? Some techno beats? I don’t know. I never did ask him, and I wish I had. I'd love to have known.
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