When Alan Rickman channeled Snape and told Tom Felton: 'Don't step on my f***ing cloak'
Alan Rickman and Tom Felton in 'Harry Potter'.
The death of legendary English actor Alan Rickman in 2016 was a huge loss to cinema. The award-winning actor was known for his considerable screen presence and a deep voice that served his characters well, particularly if they were not, um, morally perfect. While he gave numerous great performances in his career, for most of us, he will always be remembered for playing black-clad Severus Snape in the 'Harry Potter' film series. Initially presented as a forbidding, almost evil character, JK Rowling, who wrote the source material, pulled the rug under the readers' (and viewers') feet when Snape ended up as probably the most complex, compelling, and tragic character in the entire story.
And it was mainly thanks to Rickman, who embodied the character's many, manycontradictions perfectly. It turns out the late thespian did really have a streak of Snape in him, which probably made his performance so credible. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the films, is releasing his memoir 'Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard' soon, and recalled an incident in which Rickman turned on his Snape-mode -- offscreen.
He says in a video on Instagram that he once stepped on Rickman's cloak, and then something unexpected happened.
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“Eventually, I was told in no uncertain terms by Alan Rickman: ‘Don’t step on my fucking cloak’. [I] sort of giggled. Death eaters and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Is he joking?’ It quickly became apparent: he’s totally not joking," Felton said.
He added, “The next take, the director was very keen for me to walk as close as I can to Alan. We got about halfway through the Great Hall before [mimes stepping on Rickman’s cloak]. You have to bear in mind his cloak’s attached around his neck – I nearly killed the poor man! He turned around and gave me a look you never, ever want to see.”
Then some other unfortunate went and accidentally stepped on Rickman's cload, taking the heat away from Felton.
"But I’ll never forget those words: ‘Don’t step on my f***ing cloak’," said Felton.