Alan Rickman Once Lauded J.K. Rowling — Would He Call Her a Death Eater Today?

Back in 2011, Alan Rickman sent a goodbye letter to Harry Potter fans and tipped his hat to J.K. Rowling. A lot has happened since. Rereading that note now, after years of heated headlines and fandom fallout, hits very differently. So let’s talk about what Rickman knew, what he said, and how it all plays against where the franchise and its creator sit today.

The Rickman–Rowling creative handshake

Rickman had a rare deal on those sets: he was the one actor Rowling trusted with the full truth of Severus Snape from the start. She told him the thing that unlocks the character — Snape’s lifelong love for Lily Potter — long before the scripts got there. That secret became his compass, and it explains why he would sometimes resist direction; he already knew the destination.

His own diaries say he seriously considered walking away after the second film. He even wrote to his agent about being unsure if he should keep going. What changed his mind was that private context from Rowling. With that in his pocket, he felt like Snape was, in his words, his story to finish — and he stayed.

When he wrote to fans in 2011 — the letter ran in Empire Magazine and has been passed around online ever since — he made it clear he trusted Rowling’s long game. That early, quiet briefing about Snape wasn’t trivia; it was the spine of how he played every scene for a decade.

"J.K. Rowling is a great storyteller."

Short, sincere, and very Rickman. At the time, it felt uncomplicated. Now, not so much.

The mood shift around Rowling

Rowling has spent the last several years in the center of culture-war crossfire. Her posts and essays about gender identity, her criticism of Scotland’s hate-crime legislation, and regular online run-ins with LGBTQ+ advocates keep kicking the hornet’s nest — not just in the wider world, but inside the Potter fandom itself.

Every time that happens, earlier statements from Harry Potter cast members — especially Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson — get pulled back into the conversation, and the whole thing spins up again. For a lot of fans, engagement with the Wizarding World now comes with qualifiers. Some stand by her right to say what she thinks. Others have put distance between the stories they love and the author behind them, choosing fan spaces over official channels.

Where that leaves Rickman’s letter

Rickman was widely remembered as empathetic and open. Some fans have argued that he would not be on the same page with Rowling’s more recent views. Nobody can say for sure. What’s clear is that the warmth of his 2011 note, and the genuine respect he had for how she built Snape’s arc, reads differently in 2025. The admiration was real. The context has changed.

What it means for the franchise right now

• The ongoing debates around Rowling’s commentary routinely spill into the fandom, with old tensions resurfacing whenever a new dust-up hits social media.
• That split shows up in community spaces like Reddit: the nostalgia is intact, but a lot of people are engaging with Harry Potter while consciously separating it from its creator.
• The next big test is the new Harry Potter series in development. Fans are already wondering how Rowling’s presence behind the scenes could shape its reception — especially with younger viewers just meeting this world for the first time.
• Meanwhile, if you want to revisit the movies, all eight are currently streaming on Peacock.

So, how are you reading it now?

The behind-the-scenes bond between Rickman and Rowling was a genuine creative exchange — built on trust, secrecy, and precision. That part of the story is still fascinating. The rest of it is messier now. Did Rowling’s recent controversies change how you feel about Harry Potter, or about Rickman’s take on Snape? I’m curious where you land.