12 Perfect Casting Choices That Launched Major Film Franchises
6. Alan Rickman Severus Snape In The Harry Potter Films
The list of iconic actors is very long in the Harry Potter films: the trio of young stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will forever be aligned with the series, as will the list of veteran British stalwarts Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis and more. But even though his character suffered the same fate as the other adults in the series precious little screen time Alan Rickmans Severus Snape has become the fourth-most beloved character in the films. For most filmgoers, their first exposure to Rickman was as the suave terrorist leader Hans Gruber in 1988s Die Hard, a perfect foil to Bruce Willis loose cannon. Hes also notable as the only real British lead actor in 1991s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, where he played the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. With his role as the greasy Potions master at Hogwarts, his status as a heavy is complete, even if Rickman doesnt regard Snape as a stock villain. Hes become so identified with the character that series author J.K. Rowling has been known to field readers questions about Snape with the clarification question: Are we talking about Snape or Alan Rickman?
