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Posted on Apr 14, 2024

Daniel Radcliffe Says He Was "Terrified" Of Alan Rickman While Making "Harry Potter"

“I was so intimidated by Alan Rickman."

by Larry Fitzmaurice

BuzzFeed Staff

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You know Daniel Radcliffe from many, many things at this point...

Including, of course, the Harry Potter film series.

Harry Potter character posing with a wand and broomstick, in Hogwarts uniform

And if you're a fan, you also know the late, great Alan Rickman played the series' character Severus Snape.

Severus Snape in black robe stands in Hogwarts with Hagrid visible behind

Daniel and Alan appeared across the franchise's eight films together. That's a lot of time on set together, and it's no surprise that the actors developed a rapport (more on that in a minute).

Severus Snape stands behind Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, placing his hand on their heads in a classroom setting

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But as Daniel revealed in a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz podcast, he was initially so intimidated by the legendary actor that he thought that there might be some animosity toward him.

The topic came up when Josh played Daniel a clip from a 2016 interview with Alan, which Daniel had never heard before, in which he praised the child actor stars of the Harry Potter franchise.

“Thanks for showing that. I’ve never seen that before. Thank you,” Daniel replied, before saying that he was "intimidated" by Alan when they first started working together. "How can you not be by that voice?” he said.

Daniel Radcliffe in a dark suit with a bowtie at the Emmys backdrop

“Even hearing that voice you forget quite how low it was until it echoes through you. I was so intimidated by him for the first three movies. I was terrified by him and was like, ‘This guy hates me.’"

Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall in Hogwarts attire standing, three students behind them looking serious

Daniel went on to say that Alan eventually connected with him after he recognized how passionate Daniel was about acting. "Somewhere along the lines he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it," he said.

Harry Potter in a Quidditch robe, with a wand, looking surprised

Daniel also recounted another touching story about Alan — specifically, how he once cut his vacation short to see Daniel perform in the 2007 Broadway revival of the play Equus.

Five cast members from Harry Potter, three men in suits and a woman in a strapless gown, posing at a film event

“He would take me out afterwards, and we would talk about it. He was one of the first people to say like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and investigate all this stuff.’"

"I am so lucky."

Watch the entire podcast here.

Hot Topic

🔥 Full coverage and conversation on Harry Potter

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Daniel Radcliffe Says He Was "Terrified" Of Alan Rickman While Making "Harry Potter"

You know Daniel Radcliffe from many, many things at this point...

Including, of course, the Harry Potter film series.

And if you're a fan, you also know the late, great Alan Rickman played the series' character Severus Snape.

Daniel and Alan appeared across the franchise's eight films together. That's a lot of time on set together, and it's no surprise that the actors developed a rapport (more on that in a minute).

But as Daniel revealed in a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz podcast, he was initially so intimidated by the legendary actor that he thought that there might be some animosity toward him.

View this video on YouTube

The topic came up when Josh played Daniel a clip from a 2016 interview with Alan, which Daniel had never heard before, in which he praised the child actor stars of the Harry Potter franchise.

“Thanks for showing that. I’ve never seen that before. Thank you,” Daniel replied, before saying that he was "intimidated" by Alan when they first started working together. "How can you not be by that voice?” he said.

“Even hearing that voice you forget quite how low it was until it echoes through you. I was so intimidated by him for the first three movies. I was terrified by him and was like, ‘This guy hates me.’"

Daniel went on to say that Alan eventually connected with him after he recognized how passionate Daniel was about acting. "Somewhere along the lines he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it," he said.

Daniel also recounted another touching story about Alan — specifically, how he once cut his vacation short to see Daniel perform in the 2007 Broadway revival of the play Equus.

“He would take me out afterwards, and we would talk about it. He was one of the first people to say like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and investigate all this stuff.’"

"I am so lucky."

Watch the entire podcast here.

Daniel Radcliffe Says He Was "Terrified" Of Alan Rickman While Making "Harry Potter"

You know Daniel Radcliffe from many, many things at this point...

Including, of course, the Harry Potter film series.

And if you're a fan, you also know the late, great Alan Rickman played the series' character Severus Snape.

Daniel and Alan appeared across the franchise's eight films together. That's a lot of time on set together, and it's no surprise that the actors developed a rapport (more on that in a minute).

But as Daniel revealed in a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused with Josh Horowitz podcast, he was initially so intimidated by the legendary actor that he thought that there might be some animosity toward him.

View this video on YouTube

The topic came up when Josh played Daniel a clip from a 2016 interview with Alan, which Daniel had never heard before, in which he praised the child actor stars of the Harry Potter franchise.

“Thanks for showing that. I’ve never seen that before. Thank you,” Daniel replied, before saying that he was "intimidated" by Alan when they first started working together. "How can you not be by that voice?” he said.

“Even hearing that voice you forget quite how low it was until it echoes through you. I was so intimidated by him for the first three movies. I was terrified by him and was like, ‘This guy hates me.’"

Daniel went on to say that Alan eventually connected with him after he recognized how passionate Daniel was about acting. "Somewhere along the lines he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it," he said.

Daniel also recounted another touching story about Alan — specifically, how he once cut his vacation short to see Daniel perform in the 2007 Broadway revival of the play Equus.

“He would take me out afterwards, and we would talk about it. He was one of the first people to say like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and investigate all this stuff.’"

"I am so lucky."

Watch the entire podcast here.

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