J. K. Rowling Reveals Secret She Told Alan Rickman About Professor Snape

Last week, beloved British actor Alan Rickman passed away from cancer, breaking hearts of Harry Potter fans who first saw him Hogwarts' professor Severus Snape, one of the nastiest characters of the saga until it was revealed that he'd been an unsung hero all along. Now, author J.K. Rowling reveals what secret piece of information she gave the actor who played the Head of Slytherin.

In 2011, Rickman told RTE that, when he started playing Snape and the character was still known as a major bad guy, Rowling had told him one thing about the role that he then never shared with anyone.

According to IGN, days after Rickman's passing Rowling was asked what information she'd given the actor about the character he'd be playing. Melting the hearts of millions of fans, the author took to Twitter to say that, to get him to prepare for the role, she'd shared with Rickman what "always" meant.

I told Alan what lies behind the word 'always'. https://t.co/NHTJ5J6kxb

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 18, 2016

After being a known villain for most of the saga and particularly mean to Harry and his friends, in the last chapters of the last book, Deathly Hallows, Snape was redeemed. Readers found out he'd been protecting Harry. It turns out that Snape had been in love with Harry's mother, Lily, since they were both children. In the books and films, when Dumbledore asks Snape if he still loved her so many years after her death, he responded with "always."

Over the years, Rickman repeated over and over again that he'd never share what Rowling had told him about his character, so it's a beautiful homage on the author's part to tell the world what she'd shared with him, however heartbreaking it might be.

Although younger generations know Rickman best for his portrayal of the Hogwarts professor, he had many other famous roles, including Die Hard baddie Hans Gruber and the Sheriff George of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.