Alan Rickman was frustrated playing Snape in Harry Potter films reveals old letters
Alan Rickman
Letters from the late actor's colelction have revealed how he was unhappy playing Professor Snape.
He may have made the character of Severus Snape iconic, but late British actor Alan Rickman was unhappy playing the part, old letters have revealed. The letters will be up for auction, the Independent reported.
Having worked in cinema and theater for nearly four decades, before dying of pancreatic cancer in 2016, Rickman fetaured in many iconic films like Die Hard (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and Sense and Sensibility (1995), but it was his performance as the digruntled, caustic yet caring professor Snape in Harry Potter films that got Rickman global fame.
However, some old letters have revealed that how the actor was not happy with the way his role shaped up in the film franchise.
One letter from David Heyman, the producer of the fantasy movies, refers to the actor's performance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). Heyman writes, “Thank you for making HP2 a success. I know, at times, you are frustrated but please know that you are an integral part of the films. And you are brilliant.”
While working on The Half-Blood Prince (2009), Rickman wrote a note titled 'Inside Snape’s Head', in which he complained about the film’s director and wrote, “It’s as if David Yates has decided that this is not important in the scheme of things i.e. teen audience appeal.”
There is also a letter from JK Rowling, the author on whose bestsellers the Potter films were based, where she thanls Rickman for " “doing justice to my most complex character”, Independent reported.
The collection consists of 35 boxes and the letters are valued at £950,000.
“Other items in the collection include letters from Prince Charles, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, along with Rickman’s copy of the Die Hard script, the 1988 blockbuster movie in which he played the villain Hans Gruber,” the newspaper reported. The collection also includes screenplays of Rickman’s films Truly Madly Deeply and Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves.
