20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Harry Potter

12. J.K. Rowling Told Alan Rickman The Snape Twist Years Ahead Of Time

Shortly after winning the crucial role of Severus Snape, Alan Rickman was made aware of a number of later twists and reveals that wouldn't be known to fans until the final book. Specifically, Rowling trusted Rickman with the information of Snape's love for Harry's mother Lily, and the explanation for his conflicted feelings towards Harry. Rowling told Rickman about this because, "he needed to understand, I think, and does completely understand and did completely understand where this bitterness towards this boy, who's living proof of preference for another man, came from." So acutely aware of Snape's mindset was Rickman that he implored the producers and directors of the movies to trust him on his various tics and interpretations of the character, because they were of course informing later plot details that they had no idea about. Still, it's massively trusting of Rowling: imagine if Rickman fell out with producers or Rowling and let the idea slip? Thankfully, that never happened, of course.