Alan Rickman's Frustration With Harry Potter Role Revealed in Personal Letters

Legendary actor who played Professor Snape in the franchise passed away in 2016

By Jess Cohen May 29, 2018 4:48 PMTags
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Alan Rickman's personal letters have revealed the late actor had frustration over his iconic role as Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films.

Rickman passed away in Jan. 2016 at the age of 69 after battling cancer. Following his heartbreaking death, Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson shared tributes to their beloved co-star.

Now, two years after his passing, a collection of Rickman's personal items have been put up for auction at the ABA Rare Book Fair in London. The collection, which has been released by Neil Pearson Rare Books, includes Rickman's scripts, photographs, letters and personal diaries.

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Among the items in the collection is a letter from Harry Potter producer David Heyman to Rickman, thanking him for his work on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

"Thank you for making HP2 a success," Heyman's letter to Rickman reads. "I know, at times, you are frustrated but please know that you are an integral part of the films. And you are brilliant."

The collection also includes a note Rickman wrote while working on 2009's Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, in which he talks about director David Yates. Rickman states, "It's as if David Yates has decided that this is not important in the scheme of things i.e. teen audience appeal."

The Neil Pearson Twitter account has been sharing photos from some of the collection items over the last month. One photo shows a postcard from Daniel Radcliffe which states, "Dear Alan, You were fantastic in the play. See you next year. Merry Xmas."