'Harry Potter' fans discover different side of Alan Rickman

In Harry Potter, Alan Rickman played Severus Snape, who is typically stern and often can be intimidating toward the children of Hogwarts.

But in real life, he was entirely different.

Gary Oldman, his co-star, explained this during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.

The actor, who portrayed Sirius Black, remembered the late actor bringing children to the set to meet the cast and leading the kids to explore film sets.

“He would bring them in from a school, he’d bring them in from the hospital, he’d bring friends and their kids in every single day for lunchtimes and things,” he said.

“He’d take kids around to tour the sets, and we’d meet them," the actor remembered.

Oldman said that shows Rickman's endearment toward children, which has been quite different from his on-screen portrayal.

Referring to his co-star, the actor said, “The most extraordinary thing is that he was in this world that he got to come in, come in every day, and he knew how much it meant to these kids."

"So, he wanted to share it," the star noted, adding, “He was into it, he was doing it, so he was with it and committed to it."

Rickman passed away in 2016. He was 69.