Aware that he played one of the most-hated characters, the Severus Snape depicter was careful not to let fans know where he lived for fears of retaliation.
- October 8, 2022
AceShowbiz - The late Alan Rickman thought "Harry Potter" fans would "burn" his apartment building "to the ground." Portraying Death Eater Severus Snape - who was revealed in the final movies to have been secretly working to defend the boy wizard - in the movie series, the screen legend was convinced avid fans would be out for revenge if they found out he had a New York flat in the same building as his friend and co-star Ralph Fiennes, who played the evil Lord Voldemort.
"One of my favourite memories is when he came to one of my shows at the O2 in London and we drove back to town together," Alan's "Dogma" director, Kevin Smith, revealed to The Guardian newspaper.
"He said, 'I've finally broken and bought an apartment in New York.' I said, 'That's excellent.' He said, 'It's not excellent, it's in the same building as my friend Ralph.' I said, 'Why is that bad?' And he said, 'Ralph Fiennes. If the 'Harry Potter' world found out that Snape and Voldemort live in the same building, they'd burn it to the ground!"
Kevin feels honoured that Alan - who died of pancreatic cancer in 2016 aged 69 - considered him a friend. Asked what it was like working with him on "Dogma", he replied, "Bliss. Alan Rickman, it turns out, was my friend."
"I was such a fan from the moment I saw him in Die Hard. I assumed we were just associates, but he stayed in touch the rest of his life. Whenever I was in England, he would call out of the blue and say - I can't do the voice, 'I know you're here, it's time to hang out.' "
"He wasn't just being professionally courteous because we made a movie together 20 years ago. I still can't believe Alan Rickman actually liked me."
