Alan Rickman terrified Daniel Radcliffe in early Harry Potter days

Last Updated on April 25, 2024

Alan Rickman could be an intimidating presence; by all accounts, though, he was one of the most gracious and encouraging actors in the business. But try telling that to a pre-teen who was about to star in his first movie. Yes, Daniel Radcliffe was scared stiff of Severus Snapes himself, Alan Rickman, during the making of Harry Potter.

As Radcliffe revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Variety), “I was so intimidated by Alan Rickman [while making Harry Potter]. How can you not be by that voice? Even hearing that voice you forget quite how low it was until it echoes through you. I was so intimidated by him for the first three movies. I was terrified by him and was like, ‘This guy hates me.’” However, Radcliffe kept at his task, showing nothing but dedication to playing Harry Potter that “somewhere along the lines he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it.”

Rickman would go on to be a major supporter of Radcliffe’s not just on the screen but on stage as well. “He cut short a vacation in Canada to come and see me in Equus. He saw every piece of stage work I did when he was alive. He would take me out afterwards and we would talk about it. He was one of the first people to say like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and investigate all this stuff.’ I am so lucky.”

It’s pretty awesome that Alan Rickman didn’t just speak or write about his thoughts on the Harry Potter cast and production – as he did diaries released years after his 2016 death – but also showed it, something that goes so far, especially with a young cast who is trying to figure out how the business works.

Daniel Radcliffe wasn’t the only one who was petrified of Alan Rickman during the early Harry Potter outings. Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy throughout the series, remembered Rickman – in costume as Snape – telling him on the set of Half-Blood Prince to not “step on my f*cking cloak.” Felton was an adult by that point but that is the last thing you would want to hear from Severus Snape – that and “Sectumsempra”…

In which Harry Potter movie do you think Alan Rickman gave his best performance? Drop your pick below!