8 Fictional Movie Villains Inspired By Real People
3. Severus Snape (Harry Potter) - John Nettleship
Yes, we know that Snape was really a good guy all along and this article is about villains, but he fits the profile of an antagonist for around seven-and-a-half Harry Potter movies and six-and-a-half books, so he counts.
The story goes that Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling wanted Alan Rickman - and only Alan Rickman - for the role of Hogwarts' black-haired, slimy, soft-spoken potions master, and this might be because she had a certain real-life someone in mind when she originally created the character.
While growing up, Rowling attended Wyedean school in Gloucestershire, England. While there, she studied under a chemistry teacher called John Nettleship, who would go on to inspire the author when she penned the first Potter book, and would later influence Snape's casting choice in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.
Rowling confirmed as much in an appearance on The Connection radio show (transcript courtesy of The Hogwarts Library, via Accio Quote!), where she stated that "Snape is the - er - very sadistic teacher loosely based on a teacher I myself had".
Snape and Nettleship both taught similar subjects (potions/chemistry), both had dark, mid-length hair, and Nettleship, like his on-screen counterpart, was known to be quite strict during his teaching days.