J.K. Rowling Reveals a Secret She Shared with Alan Rickman about Severus Snape

• Nick Spake


• 19 Jan 2016

With exception to his debut film performance as Hans Gruber in Die Hard, the late Alan Rickman will always be best remembered for his portrayal of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise.

In a 2011 interview coinciding with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Rickman informed RTÉ that author J.K. Rowling told him a “crucial” piece of information about his character. What Rowling shared with Rickman has remained unknown until now.

Responding to a fan on Twitter( via News.Mic), Rowling revealed the secret:

For several years, the Harry Potter series kept us guess whether Snape was a good guy or bad guy. In the end, it turned out that Snape was motivated by one thing: his undying love for Lily Potter. Although Lily never reciprocated, Snape swore to “always” defend Harry nevertheless.

R.I.P. Alan Rickman. You’ll always be one of our favorite actors.