text: Alan Rickman’s most iconic role may very well be Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series. Throughout those films, we see his character go from a brooding villain to heartbreaking hero who would do anything for the ones he loved. 
   
   However, when the first films in the series were being made, JK Rowling had not yet published The Deathly Hallows and Severus Snape was presumed to be a bad guy the whole way through. 
   
   Rickman knew he wasn’t aligned with Voldemort the whole time, Rowling having previously told him how Snape was a secret agent, working for Dumbledore. Apparently he had to hide his knowledge even to the directors of the films. 
   
   "It was quite amusing, too, because there were times when a director would tell Alan what to do in a scene and he would say something like, 'No I can't do that - I know what is going to happen and you don’t,'" series producer David Heyman told the LA Times. 
   
   Alan Rickman: Life in pictures 30 show all Alan Rickman: Life in pictures 1/30 Alan Rickman at the UK premiere of 'A Little Chaos' at ODEON Kensington in London, 2015 Getty Images 2/30 Alan Rickman poses with actress Kate Winslet and actress Helen McCrory as they attend the UK premiere of 'A Little Chaos' at ODEON Kensington in London, 2015 Getty Image 3/30 4/30 Alan Rickman signs autographs for fans before the opening ceremony during the Febiofest Prague International Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, 2015 Getty Images 5/30 Alan Rickman poses with 'Elle & The Pocket Belles' as he attends on day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse in Chichester, 2015 Getty Images 6/30 Alan Rickman shakes hands with the Queen Elizabeth II during the Dramatic Arts reception at Buckingham Palace, 2014 7/30 8/30 Alan Rickman arrives at the Giffoni Film Festival meeting with the jurors in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy, 2014 9/30 'A Promise' film photocall, 70th Venice International Film Festival, Italy, 2013 Rex 10/30 Alan Rickman walks on the red carpet as he arrives to attend the World Premier for the film 'Gambit' in Leicester Square, in London, 2012 11/30 (L-R) Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis attend the New York premiere of 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2' at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, 2011 12/30 13/30 Alan Rickman attends the 'John Gabriel Borkman' after party at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, 2011 14/30 Alan Rickman at the Broadway opening night of 'Seminar' at The Golden Theatre in New York, 2011 15/30 Actors Sir Christopher Lee (L) and Alan Rickman attend the Royal World Premiere of 'Alice In Wonderland' at Odeon Leicester Square in London, 2010 16/30 17/30 Alan Rickman poses at the Gibson Guitar celebrity hospitality lounge held at the Miners Club during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah 18/30 Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver attend the photocall for 'Snow Cake' as part of the 56th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Berlin, 2006 19/30 Alan Rickman shares a laugh with Mos Def at the premiere of HBO's 'Something The Lord Made' in New York, 2004 20/30 Alan Rickman attends the UK Premiere of 'Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban' at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, 2004 21/30 Actor Alan Rickman and Lyndsey Duncan attend the '2002 Tony Award' nominees brunch in New York, 2002 22/30 23/30 Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts at 'Hollywood Salutes Bruce Willis: An American Cinematheque Tribute' at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, 2000 24/30 Sigourney Weaver (L), Tim Allen (C) and Alan Rickman (R), pose for the premiere of the science fiction, action comedy film 'Galaxy Quest' outside Mann's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, 1999 25/30 Alan Rickman at the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, 1997 Rex 26/30 Alan Rickman with Laim Neeson, Natasha Richardson in 1997 Rex 27/30 Actresses Cybill Shepherd (L) and Christine Baranski (C) present an Emmy to Alan Rickman (R) for outstanding lead actor in a mini-series or special for his lead role in the HBO production of 'Rasputin' during the 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Pasadena, California, 1996 28/30 Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law at the Premiere of "Winter Guest" in Glasgow, Scotland, 1993 Rex 29/30 Alan Rickman, Juliette Stevenson and Michael Maloney in 1990 Rex 30/30 Alan Rickman in 1984 1/30 Alan Rickman at the UK premiere of 'A Little Chaos' at ODEON Kensington in London, 2015 Getty Images 2/30 Alan Rickman poses with actress Kate Winslet and actress Helen McCrory as they attend the UK premiere of 'A Little Chaos' at ODEON Kensington in London, 2015 Getty Image 3/30 4/30 Alan Rickman signs autographs for fans before the opening ceremony during the Febiofest Prague International Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic, 2015 Getty Images 5/30 Alan Rickman poses with 'Elle & The Pocket Belles' as he attends on day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Goodwood Racecourse in Chichester, 2015 Getty Images 6/30 Alan Rickman shakes hands with the Queen Elizabeth II during the Dramatic Arts reception at Buckingham Palace, 2014 7/30 8/30 Alan Rickman arrives at the Giffoni Film Festival meeting with the jurors in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy, 2014 9/30 'A Promise' film photocall, 70th Venice International Film Festival, Italy, 2013 Rex 10/30 Alan Rickman walks on the red carpet as he arrives to attend the World Premier for the film 'Gambit' in Leicester Square, in London, 2012 11/30 (L-R) Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Matthew Lewis attend the New York premiere of 'Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2' at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, 2011 12/30 13/30 Alan Rickman attends the 'John Gabriel Borkman' after party at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City, 2011 14/30 Alan Rickman at the Broadway opening night of 'Seminar' at The Golden Theatre in New York, 2011 15/30 Actors Sir Christopher Lee (L) and Alan Rickman attend the Royal World Premiere of 'Alice In Wonderland' at Odeon Leicester Square in London, 2010 16/30 17/30 Alan Rickman poses at the Gibson Guitar celebrity hospitality lounge held at the Miners Club during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah 18/30 Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver attend the photocall for 'Snow Cake' as part of the 56th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Berlin, 2006 19/30 Alan Rickman shares a laugh with Mos Def at the premiere of HBO's 'Something The Lord Made' in New York, 2004 20/30 Alan Rickman attends the UK Premiere of 'Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban' at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, 2004 21/30 Actor Alan Rickman and Lyndsey Duncan attend the '2002 Tony Award' nominees brunch in New York, 2002 22/30 23/30 Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts at 'Hollywood Salutes Bruce Willis: An American Cinematheque Tribute' at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, 2000 24/30 Sigourney Weaver (L), Tim Allen (C) and Alan Rickman (R), pose for the premiere of the science fiction, action comedy film 'Galaxy Quest' outside Mann's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, 1999 25/30 Alan Rickman at the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, 1997 Rex 26/30 Alan Rickman with Laim Neeson, Natasha Richardson in 1997 Rex 27/30 Actresses Cybill Shepherd (L) and Christine Baranski (C) present an Emmy to Alan Rickman (R) for outstanding lead actor in a mini-series or special for his lead role in the HBO production of 'Rasputin' during the 48th Annual Emmy Awards in Pasadena, California, 1996 28/30 Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law at the Premiere of "Winter Guest" in Glasgow, Scotland, 1993 Rex 29/30 Alan Rickman, Juliette Stevenson and Michael Maloney in 1990 Rex 30/30 Alan Rickman in 1984 
   
   "He had a real understanding of the character and now looking back, you can see there was always more going on there - a look, an expression, a sentiment - that hint at what is to come... the shadow that he casts in these films is a huge one and the emotion he conveys is immeasurable.” 
   
   On numerous occasions, Rickman had to hide his knowledge from journalists asking difficult questions about the Harry Potter story. In an interview with RTE, he hinted at a “little piece of information, which I always said I would never share with anybody and never have, and never will.” 
   
   "Certainly, I did say I needed to talk to her before I could get a handle on how to play it, and we did have a phone conversation," he said. "She certainly didn't tell me what the end of the story was going to be in any way at all, so I was having to buy the books along with everybody else to find out, 'And now what?' 
   
   "No, she gave me one little piece of information, which I always said I would never share with anybody and never have, and never will. It wasn't a plot point, or crucial in any tangible way, but it was crucial to me as a piece of information that made me travel down that road rather than that one or that one or that one.” 
   
   Rickman passed away at the age of 69 after suffering with cancer. ||||| Fans of Harry Potter (i.e. people who breathe) no doubt had a love-hate relationship with Hogwarts' complicated potions master Professor Snape. Alan Rickman's brilliant portrayal in the films brilliantly captured Snape as he is in the books -- the total best and the total worst. 
   
   While Snape's backstory in the movies is told in disjointed order in flashbacks and revelations, a YouTube user uploaded this video of all of Snape's most important moments into one heartbreaking 14-minute gut check to your emotions. You have to watch all of it. 
   
   All the big moments are in there, from Snape's feelings for Harry's mother Lily, to the moment (do we still have to say spoilers? Well, SPOILERS) he kills Dumbledore. 
   
   Severus isn't the only person in Harry Potter who's hard to pin down. Tom Felton, who plays the awful, awful Draco Malfoy is a really nice dude in real life who wouldn't in a million years be sorted into the Slytherin House!
target: – When Alan Rickman started playing Professor Severus Snape, the end of the Harry Potter series was not yet written—but JK Rowling already had Snape's story arc figured out, and she hinted to Rickman that (spoiler alert!) there was more to Snape than met the eye so that he'd understand the character's motivation and know how to play him. Rickman had hinted at that fact in interviews, Mashable reports, but he never revealed exactly what Rowling told him—but now Rowling finally has, thanks to a fan on Twitter who asked her, "Will you tell us the piece of information that you told Alan Rickman about Severus Snape? Or will that forever be a secret?" As the Independent explains, Rickman once said that Rowling didn't reveal the entire ending of the series to him, but rather gave him "one little piece of information, which I always said I would never share with anybody and never have, and never will," and that helped him "travel down that road rather than that one or that one or that one." Rowling's response to the aforementioned fan explains what that "one little piece" was: "I told Alan what lies behind the word 'always,'" she wrote. Spoiler alert part 2: She's referring to the fact that, as Snape reveals to Dumbledore toward the end of the series, he's "always" loved Harry's mother, and thus felt compelled to protect Harry. (Watch Snape's scenes in chronological order and all will become clear.)