10 Outrageous Movie Characters You Won't Believe Exist In Real Life

6. Professor Snape - Harry Potter Series

Severus Snape: the ultimate good guy in disguise. As everyone who has ever read the Harry Potter books knows, Snape was a complicated character who evolved and gained immeasurable depth during the eight Harry Potter films (and the seven books). He might not seem like the kind of character you can base on a real person, but according to author J.K. Rowling, the idea of Snape came from a teacher she had when she was in school. That teacher was later revealed to be John Nettleship, a chemistry teacher from Gloucestershire. Though the character of Snape, including his backstory and involvement with Harry's family, was mostly fiction, it is no coincidence that Nettleship taught chemistry and the Professor taught potions, which is arguably the chemistry class of the wizard world. Interestingly enough, Nettleship learned of the inspiration not long after Rowling admitted it and was at first very displeased with the idea (Hopefully he read the whole series, however, and learned of his character's back story and true intentions).