Alan Rickman wasn’t too happy with the way Severus Snape was handled in the Harry Potter films in the early years of the franchise. The actor, who tragically died of pancreatic cancer in 2016, brilliantly played the iconic villain-turned-hero in the successful 8-film Warner Bros. franchise based on the best selling novels of the same name from author J.K. Rowling.

Regarded as one of the most important characters in the lore, Snape started as a snooty, stoic and oftentimes scary professor in Hogwarts. Understandably, fans didn’t like him at all. But it was always curious why Professor Dumbledore seemed to wholeheartedly trust him. Initially, dubbed a villain considering his dislike for Harry Potter and his friends, the huge twist in the novels/film series’ final installment - Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows revealed that he’s secretly played a huge part in keeping Potter safe all his life. However, Rickman was apparently bummed early on due to Snape’s slow character progress.

The personal collection of the late actor which has been put up for auction reveals details about how he truly feels about playing Snape in the massively successful Harry Potter franchise. As reported by Deadline, a letter sent to Rickman by producer David Heyman implies that the thespian wasn’t too happy about the lack of the development of his character in the movies. “Thank you for making HP2 a success. I know, at times, you are frustrated but please know that you are an integral part of the films. And you are brilliant,” Heyman wrote.

“HP2” presumably means Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets released in 2002 which explains Rickman’s frustration. At this point, it was still too early to know how important Snape would eventually be to the whole lore as the film series was still establishing the characters and the franchise’s overall story. Rowling’s book series, on the other hand, had only been up to Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire wherein Snape remains to be nothing more than a stern disciplinarian who didn’t overly like Harry and Gryffindors in general.

While Snape’s role in the series grew in the next book/film installments (Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince devoted time to explore his past), it wasn’t really until the very end where people learned about his true nature. As it turned out, despite his hate towards Harry and his father, James, his love for Lily prompted him to secretly look after “the boy who lived”- boldly double-crossing Lord Voldemort and ultimately dying in the process.

With the way Snape’s charactar arc ultimately panned out in the Harry Potter franchise, hopefully Rickman was content and happy with the way one of his most iconic movie roles turned out. Considering that some other letters from his personal collection reveals that he’s also developed close relationships with the book series’ author, Rowling and the franchise’s main star, Daniel Radcliffe, it’s safe to say that he had a great time working on the project and was proud of the work he’s done.

MORE: Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling Apologizes For Killing Dobby

Source: Deadline

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