LONDON -- Although Alan Rickman will be remembered for a number of different film roles, his portrayal of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies has to be one of his most iconic.
Rickman had previously hinted in interviews that he spoke with J.K. Rowling at the start of the filming process in order to "get a handle" on how to play Snape -- something which undoubtedly helped him play the antagonist with a suitable level of complexity.
"She certainly didn't tell me what the end of the story was going to be in any way at all, so I was having to buy the books along with everybody else," Rickman said in an RTÉ interview.
"No, she gave me one little piece of information, which I always said I would never share with anybody and never have, and never will. It wasn't a plot point, or crucial in any tangible way, but it was crucial to me as a piece of information that made me travel down that road rather than that one or that one or that one."
In the aftermath of Rickman's death, a fan took to Twitter to ask Rowling what the information was.
@jk_rowling Will you tell us the piece of information that you told Alan Rickman about Severus Snape? Or will that forever be a secret? :-)— Sarah (@sarahrosefrank) January 18, 2016
And, not long after, Rowling revealed what she had told Rickman.
I told Alan what lies behind the word 'always'. https://t.co/NHTJ5J6kxb— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 18, 2016
The famous quote, "Always", refers to a scene in the final book in which we discover that Snape was always in love with Harry's mother, Lily. This crucial memory goes some way to revealing just how troubled and complex Snape really was as a character. Despite hating Harry's father and being consumed with bitterness, Snape's enduring love for Lily meant he felt bound to watch over and protect her son.
@AshleyKSmalls I know exactly how you feel.— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 18, 2016
BONUS: 5 moments that made us love Alan Rickman's Severus Snape
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