Alan Rickman almost turned down the role of Severus Snape in Harry Potter for an unexpected reason.

Any Potter fan will always love the supposedly wicked yet noble potions’ master, so it’s hard to believe that the late, great Rickman nearly passed up such a prestigious part…

Director Chris Columbus discusses how he and producer David Heyman recruited their cast for “Sorcerer’s Stone” in a new interview with AV Club, admitting that Alan Rickman was considerably more difficult to cast than many of his co-stars. “He was reluctant because he didn’t want to be typecast as a villain, particularly after ‘Die Hard,’ and I guess ‘Robin Hood [Prince Of Thieves],'” Columbus explained.

JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, was ultimately the one who persuaded the celebrity to play the role.

J.K. Rowling took the actor out to dinner and “told him something” about what would “happen to Snape throughout the series and in the seventh book.”

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This relates to the revelation that Snape was profoundly in love with Harry’s mother, Lily Potter, and had been protecting Harry since her death, as every Potterhead knows.

Rickman remained tight-lipped about the plot twists, only hinting at them with “tiny little idiosyncrasies with his performance” (via AV Club). He didn’t even tell Columbus about the secret plot information; he only realized how “brilliant” his acting choices were after reading the last “Harry Potter” book.

A 20-year Harry Potter special has been announced by HBO Max. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the debut of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in cinemas, the streaming platform will bring together a number of celebrities.

Due to the link between the time-turner Hermione receives from Dumbledore and the wizard’s words about retracing his own steps, the news was made through a short teaser that displays several sequences from the movies, mainly from The Prisoner of Azkaban.

The special, titled Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts, will include Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who play the major characters in the movies, as well as Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, and others.