Exclusive extracts from Alan Rickman’s private diaries, written over nearly 11 years of playing Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, have been published. The late actor began keeping a fuller daily diary in 1992, filling 26 volumes. The entries show his initial hesitation about taking the role, as well as intimate details of conversations with author J.K. Rowling and the chaotic atmosphere on set.
On 23 August, Rickman noted he called Los Angeles and said “OK to HP”, but the next day he felt “a bit nothing about HP which really disturbs me”. He later spoke twice with Rowling, who revealed aspects of Snape’s background that “no one else knows”. Rickman described her as “a channel – bubbling over” with the character’s history, never saying she “wanted” something but rather that it simply happened.
Diary entries also detail costume fittings, including a “measurements from hell” session and discussions over a wig and false nose. At Alnwick Castle for a camera test, he noted a “friendly and a mite chaotic” atmosphere. During filming of the first film’s Great Hall scenes, he observed that director Chris Columbus and actors Maggie Smith, Richard Harris and others were “sweet, funny souls”, but that there was no big speech about the scene – just “Tick Off The Shots filming”.
Beyond Harry Potter, the diaries capture Rickman’s other activities and encounters. On 29 December he had dinner with author Edna O’Brien, who told tales of Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter. New Year’s Eve was spent with friends, fireworks and singing. The extracts reveal a man balancing a massive franchise role with everyday life and a sharp eye for the absurdities of showbusiness.
