Alan Rickman wanted to quit the “never-ending” Harry Potter franchise
The late Alan Rickman wanted to exit the Harry Potter franchise, with the situation coming to a head before the release of the 2004 movie The Prisoner of Azkaban – directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
Notably, Rickman played Professor Snape in all eight films between 2001 and 2011. However, as reported by Indiewire, excerpts from his diaries contained in October’s The Diaries of Alan Rickman, show that the actor’s doubts about the franchise arose while filming the second instalment, The Chamber of Secrets.
In January 2002, Rickman, who had been a Hollywood icon long before the Harry Potter movies thanks to the likes of Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, wrote that he felt the franchise was “never-ending”.
He registered that although it was “nice to see” his co-stars, he couldn’t help thinking the films were monotonous. “It’s a dreamlike thing, as if it has never stopped. And in a way, it hasn’t – and won’t,” that particular extract reads, originally published by The Guardian.
By December of that year, Rickman moved closer towards the exit door. He held discussions with his agent Paul Lyon-Maris about leaving, “Which he thinks will happen. But here we are in the project-collision area again. Reiterating no more HP. They don’t want to hear it.”
However, Rickman eventually committed to the third instalment, The Prisoner of Azkaban. At one point during filming, though, he explained that Cuarón went “quietly ballistic” at him after an accident. The actor then proceeded to criticise co-star Emma Watson’s diction.
“The day got off to a fabulous start with the screen guillotining on to my head, a sudden, swift blackout followed by day-long melancholy,” Rickman wrote. “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.”
The flick was eventually released in May 2004, with Rickman concluding that “Alfonso has done an extraordinary job” and that the final product was a “very grown-up movie, so full of daring that it made me smile and smile”.
Later, the diary entries reveal that Rickman was critical of Professor Snape’s death. “I have finished reading the last ‘Harry Potter’ book,” he wrote. “Snape dies heroically, Potter describes him to his children as one of the bravest men he ever knew and calls his son Albus Severus. This was a genuine rite of passage. One small piece of information from Jo Rowling seven years ago – Snape loved Lily [Potter] – gave me a cliff edge to hang on to.”
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