Daniel Radcliffe has opened up about his working relationship with Alan Rickman, sharing that he was once “terrified” of his former Harry Potter co-star.
The two began working together in the first Harry Potter film, in which Daniel made his debut as a child actor playing the title character, while Alan portrayed Potions professor Severus Snape.
In a new interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Daniel admitted to being initially “so intimidated” by the late Die Hard actor when they first began 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’.”
As time went on, the pair eventually became close, particularly after Alan noticed Daniel’s work ethic.
“Somewhere along the lines he saw that I really wanted to do this and work at it,” Daniel said.
“He cut short a vacation in Canada to come and see me in Equus. He saw every piece of stage work I did when he was alive. He would take me out afterwards and we would talk about it.”
Daniel added: “He was one of the first people to say like, ‘You should look at voice coaching and investigate all this stuff’.”
After being played a clip from 2016 in which Alan sang his praises, Daniel said: “I am so lucky. To hear him say that is really lovely. Thank you for showing me that.”
In the clip in question Alan was heard saying: “As much as I was doing it for seven weeks, they were doing it for 52 weeks. This was their life from 12 to 22.
“And you would watch it from the sidelines at times and throw the odd lifeline in because there was so little time for that.”
The Love Actually actor added that he felt “huge pride” watching Daniel in the Broadway musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.
“How dare he be dancing as well as the New York dancers,” he joked. “He worked at it.”
In 2022, Alan Rickman’s diaries were published, in which his changing feelings towards Harry Potter’s younger cast members were documented.
He wrote in one 2008 entry: “One minute he was 12 now he’s 19. When did that happen? And he’s sensitive, articulate and smart.”