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Alan Rickman worried Harry Potter fans would ‘burn his apartment to the ground’ as he lived in same building as Ralph Fiennes – aka Lord Voldemort-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro
Harry Potter fans, dramatic? Never!
Alan Rickman worried Harry Potter fans would burn his apartment building to the ground as it house two of the series’ biggest villains (Picture: Getty / Warner Bros)
Alan Rickman used to worry Harry Potter fans would ‘burn his apartment to the ground’ in response to his villainous character – and famous neighbour.
The late actor, who died in 2016, was acclaimed for his role as Severus Snape in the film series based on JK Rowling’s books.
While his character falls into a moral grey area in the wider scheme of things, Snape was a pure villain when it came to the way he treated Harry within the walls of Hogwarts – and fans of the series took this personally.
At the height of the Harry Potter madness, Rickman lived in a New York City apartment in a building which, coincidentally, also housed Ralph Fiennes, who played the evil Lord Voldemort.
It has now been revealed that the actor joked avid Potterheads would burn the building ‘to the ground’ if they learned Voldemort and Snape lived there.
Director Kevin Smith, renowned for the cult film Dogma which starred Rickman, shared the story with The Guardian in a new interview, admitting it was ‘one of my favourite memories’ of the actor.
The acclaimed actor appeared as Severus Snape in the series, and held multiple other famed movie roles (Picture: Getty Images)
Smith and Rickman worked together on cult classic comedy Dogma and remained firm friends (Picture: Getty Images)
He said: ‘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.
‘[Rickman] 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!”‘
Rickman had just moved into an apartment building where Ralph Fiennes – aka Lord Voldemort – lived (Picture: WireImage)
Smith went on to say that he was ‘honoured’ the iconic actor considered him a friend, describing their time working together on Dogma as ‘bliss.’
‘I was such a fan from the moment I saw him in Die Hard,’ he said.
‘I assumed we were just associates, but he stayed in touch the rest of his life,’ he said, recalling how every time Smith was in England Rickman would call him asking him 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.’
Rickman died at the age of 69 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2005 as filming began for the fifth film in the series, The Order of the Phoenix.
The character of Snape was positively hated until his true motives were revealed in the final book (Picture: Photoshot)
Director Smith says he is ‘honured’ that Rickman counted him as a friend (Picture: Getty Images)
Last month, excerpts of the actor’s secret journals he kept in the six years leading to his death were released by The Guardian, ahead of the full book seto be released in October.
In one journal entry marked January 30, 2006, Rickman spoke about why he decided to return to the franchise for the fifth film, saying he had to ‘see it through.’
Another journal entry from July 27, 2007, reveals Rickman’s thoughts after reading the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
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‘I have finished reading the last Harry Potter book. Snape dies heroically, Potter describes him to his children as one of the bravest men he ever knew and calls his son Albus Severus,’ he says.
‘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.’
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