It has been said that actors do not make a worthwhile contribution to society much like the British Monarchy. Actors, like royalty, are meant to be gawked and placed on a pedestal. Yet, actors are mouthpieces for writers, without them we may not have a clear image on what a character look like. On the same token, some actors encourages writers to create other characters. Actors like Alan Rickman.
What movie did an exhausted J.K. Rowling see Alan Rickman in to envision him as Severus Snape? I prefer to think that it was not one film, but a collage that inspired a humanistic portrayal of a villain or an underestimated hero. He also contributed to the Severus Snape, good or bad? debate. Any other actor would possibly made Snape easily predictable or not honor the author's written work. People are always scouring the books in hopes of finding a new dimension to his character because of J.K. Rowling's writing as well as Alan Rickman's acting. Admit it, it is Alan Rickman's depiction of Severus Snape makes most females want to be in Slytherin to coo over his deep dulcet tones. "Turn to page 394," sends chills down the backs of quite a few fangirls and fanboys as well as the word "Always". A whole fandom made a false quote not for the character, but for the actor centering around his response to reading Harry Potter in his rocking chair at eighty years of age. Always. This is either the pinnacle of Harry Potter insanity or our utmost respect for the actor.
An actor playing a cynical actor playing an alien who is reluctant to go to outer space- who is to say that Alan Rickman was not in the first Inception? He challenged our minds by showing us that the world is not divided between heroes and villains. We need to reserve our judgement before jumpting to conclusions. I think I'll try to read "My Name is Rachel Corrie", a play that was compose from her journals and compiled by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner, in hopes to understand their take-away message.
An actor has many lives by the many the role he plays. To a character, an actor does not mean a thing because, funnily, that person does not exist in that universe. Maybe, actors only figured out how to travel across dimension or time travel by playing various parts set in different time periods. An actor breathes life into the character he plays. Now, Alan Rickman lives on through the characters he portrayed, but he also thrives in our writings, in fanfiction. Thank you, Mr. Rickman, for our childhoods.