Acclaimed author JK Rowling recently shared a conversation she had with late actor Alan Rickman, who played Professor Severus Snape in all eight Harry Potter movies. While answering fan questions about her writing process, JK Rowling told readers how she explained the character’s complex struggles to the late actor after he reached out to her for help in gaining insight into his complicated role in Harry’s life.
Alan Rickman played Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies, where he was often seen blurring the line between Harry’s tormentor and sometimes his fierce protector. Throughout the film, Snape, who visibly dislikes Harry, struggles with his complex emotions toward him. While he took particular pleasure in tormenting Harry, he often protected him from harm, including saving him from Voldemort and his followers.
According to the Times of London, while answering fan questions, JK Rowling revealed Rickman was often confused about his character’s motivations and had reached out to her for clarity. She said, “He rang me up and said, ‘Look, I’m spinning plates here. I need to understand what Snape’s up to. Am I a pure baddie?’
JK Rowling revealed that Rickman was the only person she had told that Snape was in love with Harry’s mother. She explained, “I talked him through it: ‘You are a double agent. But you do dislike Harry. You can’t overcome your visceral dislike of this boy who looks like your arch-enemy.”
Rowling added that she disclosed Snape’s dire fate to Alan Rickman before the world.
Rickman, who died in 2016, was one of several prominent figures to be eventually killed off. Rowling also expressed her distress over killing off her beloved characters. While recalling all the slain characters, she said, “I don’t like killing off characters, but it’s part of life, isn’t it? Killing Snape was awful. I always knew he was going to go. I couldn’t bear killing Lupin and Tonks [Harry’s teacher and wife]; that was so sad. Oh, and Fred [Weasley].”
Rowling is currently working on the next Cormoran Strike series novel.
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