Portrayed by Alan Rickman, Severus Snape is one of the most complex and enigmatic characters in the Harry Potter film series. While the late actor brought the character to life with remarkable depth and nuance, there was a key moment surrounding Snape that he initially questioned.
In a previous interview, Rickman shared that he was skeptical of how the filmmakers planned to depict his house outside of Hogwarts. However, despite his doubts, the depiction offered a rare glimpse into Snape’s personal world, reinforcing his emotional solitude.
Alan Rickman expressed his doubts about Snape’s house depiction in the Harry Potter film series
The sixth installment in the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, offers a glimpse into Professor Snape’s house outside of Hogwarts after Narcissa Malfoy and her sister Bellatrix Lestrange travel to Spinner’s End to visit him.
Alan Rickman later revealed in an interview that he was initially skeptical of how the filmmakers planned to depict Snape’s house in the film. “When we finally got to play a scene in what appeared to be his house, you know I often wondered what that would look like,” he told Oh No They Didn’t!
However, upon seeing the set, Rickman questioned some of the design choices, especially due to Snape’s deeply repressed and disciplined nature. He further explained,
I remember walking onto the set and saying to (designer) Stuart Craig, “I don’t know whether he’d have all these pictures on the walls.”
Rickman further acknowledged that though “the books, I could understand,” he had a hard time accepting the other details, especially for someone who lives in “very tight confines – emotionally, physically.”
However, it was these details of Severus Snape’s house that provided Rickman a deeper insight into Snape’s character, revealing how consumed he was by his grief, regret, and unwavering sense of duty.
Alan Rickman explained how Snape’s house reflected his isolated life
Though he initially questioned the setting for Severus Snape’s house, Alan Rickman also admitted that it made sense upon closer reflection.
“But in a sense, Stuart was absolutely right,” he said during the interview, as he explained that his house remains merely an inherited space from his parents and not something that he had actively shaped for himself.
He shared,
This was the house that his parents built. In a way, all he does is go there and you can’t believe that he would go into that kitchen and cook any food. You wonder what he eats. Is there a takeaway somewhere at Hogwarts he occasionally orders in from?
Rickman elaborates on Snape’s rigid, isolated existence, suggesting that his life revolves entirely around his mission, that is, protecting Harry for Lily’s sake and at the expense of his own happiness or personal fulfillment.
“Because you can’t imagine that there is any other agenda in his life than the one he’s set himself,” he shared during the interview, implying that Snape’s home reflects his tragic inner conflict, as he could never move on from his past.
The Harry Potter film series is available to watch on Max.
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