The late Alan Rickman was a major part of the Harry Potter films as the enigmatic Professor Snape, but there was a point where Rickman nearly quit the famous films. Published in The Guardian, extracts from Rickman’s diaries reveal that it wasn’t all fun and wizardry behind the scenes on Harry Potter. At least, not for Rickman.
“Talking to [agent] Paul Lyon-Maris about [Harry Potter] exit, which he thinks will happen,” he wrote on December 4, 2002. “But here we are in the project-collision area again. Reiterating no more HP. They don’t want to hear it.”
His comments came following Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002, which propelled the franchise to even dizzier heights following The Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001.
But this glimpse into Rickman’s experience with the franchise reveals major truths, including Rickman’s admiration for series lead Daniel Radcliffe..
“[Daniel Radcliffe] is so concentrated now. Serious and focused – but with a sense of fun,” he wrote in May 2003 as they began filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. “I still don’t think he’s really an actor but he will undoubtedly direct/produce. And he has such quiet, dignified support from his parents. Nothing is pushed.”
Rickman also talked about the pressure faced by the film’s directors, as well as what it was like to work with children who didn’t always know their lines.
“The day got off to a fabulous start with the screen guillotining on to my head,” he wrote on July 30, 2003. “A sudden, swift blackout followed by day-long melancholy. Alfonso [Cuarón, director] was quietly ballistic with me. I love him too much to let it last too long so I wailed offset and we sorted it out. He’s under the usual HP pressure and even he starts rehearsing cameras before actors, and these kids need directing. They don’t know their lines and Emma [Watson]’s diction is this side of Albania at times. Plus my so-called rehearsal is with a stand-in who is French.”
By Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, disaster struck. Rickman was soon forced to confront health issues, having been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in 2005. But despite his own personal struggles, he decided to stick with Harry Potter.
Weeks after an operation to remove his prostate, 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.’”
Thankfully, Rickman continued to see out the entire franchise, appearing as Professor Snape throughout all eight main Harry Potter films. In 2007, he wrote about his character’s ending.
“… I have finished reading the last ‘Harry Potter’ book,” he wrote on July 27, 2007. “Snape dies heroically, Potter describes him to his children as one of the bravest men he ever knew and calls his last Albus Severus. This was a genuine rite of passage. One small piece of information from Jo Rowling seven years ago – Snape loved Lily – gave me a cliff edge to hang on to.”
Rickman died on January 14, 2016, at the age of 69.
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Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on twitter.