Severus Snape vs Hans Gruber: What is the Definitive Character of Alan Rickman’s Career?
We argue a lot about what is the best movie of an actor’s career, the worst movie of their career, but we rarely argue about what is the DEFINITIVE movie of their career. The definitive movie is not necessarily the best movie of the genre: it is the movie that best exemplifies the best qualities of the genre, actor, director, etc.
An example of a movie being definitive, but not necessarily the best, may be ‘Castaway’ being the definitive Tom Hanks movie, even though he won Oscars for ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Philadelphia’ and may be objectively better performances.
(The quick and dirty case: Tom Hanks runs the gamut of emotions, and we get full views of comic Hanks, serious Hanks, and emotional Hanks. If you’re showing one movie to Aliens, they will have a better idea of Hanks the actor from watching Castaway than watching Philadelphia or Forest Gump.
You may fairly argue that Forest Gump, Philadelphia, or Saving Private Ryan is definitive AND the best, but at least we have agreed on the distinction.
But we’re not here to discuss Tom Hanks. We’re here to discuss Alan Rickman, a wonderful actor who left us too soon in 2016. Alan Rickman’s definitive movie character is a fascinating debate because there are two clear-cut characters that are iconic in different ways, and no other movie comes remotely close to being definitive.
We are of course talking about his unforgettable supporting roles in beloved franchises: Hans Gruber (Die Hard) and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter Franchise.
As always, the question when it comes to picking one definitive movie is if aliens came down to earth and asked for one and only one movie to completely understand Alan Rickman the movie actor, which would you choose.
It is an insanely difficult choice between Hans Gruber and Severus Snape.
Hans Gruber is arguably the best movie villain ever: slick, well educated, funny, and yet utterly terrifying to cross.
Severus Snape is arguably one of the most fascinating supporting characters ever. He’s a rare character whose motivations throughout an 8-movie arc you never are truly sure about; even though you never fully trust him and are implicitly biased to loathing, Rickman leaves you weeping in sympathy in the end.
Every single thing I just wrote in the previous paragraph is nearly impossible to pull off, and Rickman, frankly, was the only actor that I think could have done it.
So which performance is the single most definitive of Rickman’s career?
I’ve agonized over this question for weeks. The only fair way to answer is to break this down into categories and evaluate the two characters in each category. Each of the categories deals with how we should understand Alan Rickman the movie actor and what completes the essence of which we want aliens to understand.
Let’s begin; “you will be witnesses”.
*Please note, the categories are mine and mine alone. If you disagree, feel free to agonize over the definitive Alan Rickman movie for weeks and get back to me!*
Humor
Which character best captures Alan Rickman’s quick wit?
We don’t need to spend much time here: Hans Gruber is laugh-out-loud funny even on the 50th viewing, while there is no spell in the world that could insert a funny bone in Severus Snape (can you imagine Snape doing standup? Well it actually happened.)
Winner: Hans Gruber
Oscar worthiness
Which character best embodies Alan Rickman’s skills as an actor?
This is another tough one, and there is some emerging late consensus that Rickman should have been nominated for both Hans Gruber and Severus Snape.
Let’s first start with Hans Gruber: as we just laid out, he’s one of the best movie villains ever, and great movie villains have been nominated for best-supporting actor before and have even won.
For us, this isn’t quite there.
His best Oscar moment in the movie is probably when he’s pretending to be Bill Clay (the best rewatchable scene after 50 viewings). Still, he doesn’t have a transformation that often elicits a nomination, nor really a single standout scene where he owns the screen for a few minutes at a time like this performance (except maybe this scene, though it’s more expository for Takagi and meant to set up the following scene where he kills him in cold blood).
As for Severus Snape? Rickman’s performance in Deathly Hallows 2 comes close to Oscar worthiness: he acts the hell out of his scene with Voldemort, as well as the flashbacks and even the opening scenes of him looking for Harry in Hogwarts. But is it enough screen time to warrant a nomination?
It’s close, but we say no.
Ultimately, we think Rickman’s performance in Deathly Hallows Part 2 had more difficulty, especially for a character who was portrayed as untrustworthy as Snape was in 7 movies previously.
Winner: Severus Snape
Entertaining
Which character best embodies how entertaining Alan Rickman was on screen?
This category may seem unfair to Severus Snape, who doesn’t get to be funny like Hans. However, there are several scenes where Severus dines on some scenery, chewing Harry out in several movies, as well as a couple of scenes where he gets taken to task, like by Lupus in Prisoner of Azkaban or McGonagall in Deathly Hallows Part 2.
But Hans Gruber is one of the most entertaining villains ever: You walk away from Die Hard ready to watch a five-season Netflix prequel series about him.
Winner: Hans Gruber
Heart
Which character pulls the best at your heartstrings the way Rickman always could?
Rickman was an actor who, despite his reputation for his characters being inherently untrustworthy, brought heart into his performances in a unique way.
(My favorite example might be Dogma, a movie that doesn’t work on any level unless Rickman makes Metatron unique and compassionate in a film satirizing Catholicism. If we had to pick a third candidate for Rickman’s definitive movie character, it would undoubtedly be Metatron.)
But when it comes to Gruber vs. Snape, it’s not even worth a conversation to decide who wins.
Winner: Severus Snape
Line Delivery
Which character best encapsulates Alan Rickman’s other-worldly line reading?
Rickman’s voice is what makes Rickman, well, Alan Rickman. He’s on the short list of people you’d want to record your voicemail. So, the movie that best encapsulates his line delivery combined with his unique voice is super important for his definitive film.
In ‘Die Hard,’ the best line delivery is probably when he carefully and slowly reviews Joseph Takagi's biography.
However, when it comes to Severus Snape, he relishes the opportunity to enunciate every syllable, taking as much time as he wants. This is a category of one, and this scene is the winner by far; there is no E…………………….qual.
Winner: Severus Snape
After five categories, the winner, the definitive character by a score of 3-2, is Severus Snape!
If you’re still unconvinced, consider this succinct argument: Severus Snape represents both sides of Alan Rickman’s character portfolio: Snape a sinister, foreboding, outright mean character while also showing himself to be a softie when all is said and done.
There is no humanity in Hans Gruber to speak of (as debonair as he is).
The answer, the definitive character of Alan Rickman’s career, can only be Severus Snape.
Do you like the concept of debating the definitive movie of an actor/director/movie trope? Check out The Definitive Cinema Podcast, right here on OnStage Blog.