The never-before-seen personal diaries of the late actor Alan Rickman reveal his true feelings about working with child co-stars in the Harry Potter franchise.
Published by The Guardian, the actor - who died from prostate cancer in 2016 at the age of 69 - had allegedly kept a pocket diary since the 1970s, before starting to write more detailed entries in the 1990s.
Included in those entries are 10 years of notes written by Rickman about his time as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies.
His first entry in relation to the hit franchise was from August 23, 2000, in which the then-54-year-old wrote: "6:30 PM Pile into the car and drive to Siena to get to Il Campo before dark. To the Patio Bar where, around 8:00 PM, I called LA and said OK to HP [Harry Potter]."
On September 10, Rickman writes about reading the first Harry Potter novel, written by J. K. Rowling: "Perfect day. Still, sunny. To the pool. Finish [reading] HP 1, start 2."
A week and a half later the Love Actually star detailed his experience during a costume fitting for Harry Potter: "HARRY P TAKES OFF. 10:30 AM Car to costume fitting/discussion. Measurements from hell after a month in Italy. Waltz around each other – higher collar? Blue fabric? Thinner arms? And off to Leavesden Studios. Chris Columbus [director], David Heyman [producer], Makeup dept waiting. Wig? Nose?"
Then, in December 2002, Rickman detailed that he wanted to leave the wizarding movie series after the first two flicks, penning an entry that read: "Talking to [agent] Paul Lyon-Maris about HP exit, which he thinks will happen. But here we are in the project-collision area again. Reiterating no more HP. They don't want to hear it."
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Yet, in January 2006, the London native wrote about his desire to continue working on the franchise - after having already filmed four movies: "Finally, yes to HP 5. The sensation is neither up nor down. The argument that wins is the one that says: 'See it through. It's your story.'"
Rickman's entries further included many of his personal opinions on politics, life, and his famous colleagues - including his Harry Potter co-stars, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson.
Two entries, written in 2003, directly address Radcliffe and Watson - who played Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.
"I still don't think he's really an actor but he will undoubtedly direct/produce," Rickman said about Radcliffe, while adding two months later: "These kids need directing. They don't know their lines and Emma [Watson]'s diction is this side of Albania at times."
Rickman also cheekily dissed numerous other celebrities, included infamous bad boy, Liam Gallagher. "Liam Gallagher is a great rock singer but an absolute tosser as a person," the Die Hard star wrote.
The entries make up part of an upcoming book about Rickman's life through his diary entries. Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries, will be out on October 18.
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