[HPforGrownups] Sexy Snape?

[silmariel]

No: HPFGUIDX 139538


> Elyse:
> It has crossed my mind actually, and that only makes me find
> him more attractive not less.

> vmonte responds:
> Actually Elyse, I think that there are many fans out there that think
> like you do. I do not, but your post has opened my eyes to how some
> fans think about Snape.

> Luckdragon:
> I wonder how many people would truly find Snape as attractive had Alan
> Rickman not portrayed him in the movies. 

Silmariel:
Allow me to delurk. As I don't find Alan particularly appealing, and I still 
have a mental image of Snape that is not Rickman's, I may help. 

The usual ESL warning.

> Now Alan is a very sexy man, and
> does not have a "hook nose" or look "greasy". 

Almost every male character in Marguerite de Valois had terrible hair, it goes 
in some historical films that actually try to reflect a little how things 
were. That doesn't make them unattractive. A hook nose alone won't make a 
male unattractive (Alvar Mayor counts?), I think. 

> Alan also has a very deep hypnotic voice and a nice physique. 

I don't find Rickman sexy by his looks or body but I admit he has a fine 
voice. Not that I find him ugly, it's just the kind of man I wouldn't look 
twice. And he is way too old. I don't find him sexy in other films. Really.

> If a lesser known actor had represented Snape in a more accurate way I do 
not think we would be as enthralled with him in this way. 

I tend to like Hamlet whoever is the guy portraying him, even when he is 
played by actors I particularly don't like (Mel Gibson). So I don't think all 
is on Rickman's. I agree he's a good actor, of course. I like the way he uses 
his eyes. But then, that's something Snape himself does a lot. 

> Loking at canon there is nothing other than his intelligence that makes him 
> appealing in any way.  

Behavior and skills. He lurks in the shadows, he is misterious, he can be cold 
or vehement, he is dangerous, he is cruel or verges it, he's a good duelist, 
he has secrets, he's *young* (I can't but compare with Rickman's Snape, who I 
can't help seeing as nearing 50 years old) for a wizard, he can act, deceive, 
outsmart, win. He has killed Dumbledore (if he is bad, that's a fantastic 
thing in itself, if he is good, it is also a fantastic thing in terms of 
raising the stakes). A top gladiator in his arena, they use to have a bunch 
of groupies following them. 

I don't think it's intelligence alone. Percy, Bill, Lupin are intelligent but 
they don't enter the stage stealing the camera focus as Snape does. He has 
edge. 

> His movements have been likened to a bat or spider, he has pasty skin, beady 
black eyes, lank black greasy hair,

There's people that like the bat and spider imaginery, not everyone hates 
spiders by default and bat&vampire are a very close call, vampires use to be 
depicted as sexy, nosferatus apart. 

I already said greasy is not a problem, but in Spinner's end he apparently 
corrected this: 'long black hair parted in curtains'... rather neutral, the 
statement, and long black hair is not exactly a bad thing, it's usual enough 
for good looking heroes. His eyes are not beady, only black, in Spinner's 
End... 

Hey, maybe Jo is seeing too much of Rickman in Snape :) just a joke, but is 
very noticeable the change in description in Spinner's End, it didn't give me 
that ugly depiction of Snape, rather a neutral one. The thing is, he doesn't 
need good looks in order to be attractive, he just needs to be plain in that 
aspect.

> he lip curls sneeringly when he speaks, he has spittle in the
> corners of his mouth, he only wears black clothing, he obviously has a mean
> disposition, gets off on other people's discomfort

Deadly right, you are. That's it. You know who also fit this description? 
Darth Maul, that sexy beast with almost no screen time nor lines and a 
'surprising' (well, for some) fan base eager to buy more books and all sorts 
of merchandising, even if he was dead.

He *is* very nasty... but that's the point. 

Only wearing black gives bonus points for part of the audience, not detracts 
them. 

> and I highly doubt his voice is as attractive as Rickman's. 

Conceded. Maulie also had a striking voice. But I think he can manage even 
with a not over-the-top voice, I'm sure that knowing how to act includes 
knowing how to make the best of the voice you have, so as long it is not a 
horrible voice to start with, it's fine. 

> Has anyone seen the drawing Jo herself
> made of Snape as she imagined him. Not a pretty picture.

Yes. But then, I don't like any of her drawings and if I had to imagine 
characters as she draws them... eeek. I prefer reading the books and forming 
my mental image. Also don't know if she 'changed of idea'. 

Just in case anyone wonders, I don't care if he is good or bad. Back to 
lurking...

Silmariel