Updated September 17, 2019 31.7K votes 5.7K voters 553.5K views
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Vote up the Alan Rickman stories that make you feel all warm and fuzzy.
He might have portrayed Professor Severus Snape with a cold exterior, but in real life, actor Alan Rickman was very different from his morally dubious wizarding character. The Harry Potter star - whose career was launched when he played villain Hans Gruber in 1988's Die Hard - touched many with his generous spirit.
Alan Rickman's co-stars and friends sing nothing but praise for the late actor, who passed after a private battle with cancer in January 2016. Some fans and people familiar with his work who were fortunate enough to meet Alan Rickman have also shared some wonderful experiences with him. These stories about Alan Rickman from regular people are sweet, funny, and a reminder that there is truly good in this world.
Christina Klein-Bissett, a journalist from Edinburgh, told the BBC about her charming encounter with Rickman. She interviewed him on several occasions, but one instance took the cake:
I had the enormous pleasure to interview Alan several times as a journalist. When I spilled some red wine on my dress during an interview, he just took me by the hand and across the street to a really nice store to buy a new one for me.
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He Sincerely Answered A Student's 'Stupid' Questions
Twitter user Gayle Amy worked up the courage to speak to Rickman after an acting master class. She said of her interaction with him:
I met Alan Rickman after a Master Class at an acting program, and after getting up the courage to talk to him, I asked him some stupid question about Die Hard. He answered seriously, spoke with me for a few minutes, & gave me his full attention. So gentlemanly. So sincere.
Brennan Carley, an associate editor at GQ, tweeted a sweet memory the day Rickman passed in 2016. When he was 13, Carley had seen one of Rickman's shows in London. Carley got the chance to speak with him afterwards, and Rickman did this:
When I was 13, I met Alan Rickman in London at a performance of 'Mary Poppins' & he slipped into Snape's voice for me. What a class act. RIP
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He Laughed When Someone Recognized Him From 'Galaxy Quest' Instead Of 'Harry Potter'
While plenty of people have stories about meeting Rickman after a show, not many can claim they made him laugh. Mean Stars user _billie_holiday saw Rickman in the play Seminar in March 2011, and this is what happened when he signed the user's playbill:
I just saw a play with Alan Rickman in it, in March [2011]... It wasn't unexpected, but when they came out to sign playbills, I stood there staring at him. Every person around me was like, "oh my god, you were SO great in Harry Potter. Like, awesome!" He was really nice and polite, and said "thanks so much" to every praise. When he got to me, I realize I needed to say something different, so I blurted, "I LOVED YOU IN GALAXY QUEST!" And he started laughing hard and said (not sarcastically), "yeah... that was a GREAT movie." I made Severus Snape laugh.
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Rickman Promised A Scared Six-Year-Old That He Wasn’t Really Severus Snape
If you're six years old, Professor Snape can seem pretty scary, and he was definitely intimidating to Twitter user @evroselane. The fan recalled a moment when she met him when she was a child, and he comforted her after seeing her reaction:
When I was six I met Alan Rickman at a party and he promised he wasn't Snape [because] I was scared, then blew me a kiss when I left.
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He Waited With A Child At A Broadway Stage Door Until Her Father Found Her
Allyson Gross was just eight years old when she met Rickman in New York. She was freaked out, but it wasn't because she was meeting Professor Snape. Gross shared on Twitter:
I met Alan Rickman when I was eight and visiting NYC for the first time, at a Broadway stage door. He chilled [with] me 'til my dad found me [and] helped me calm down when I realized I'd bumped into Snape. Said I was cute (I was).
