JKR's secrets about Snape and Hagrid (was:.../Snape's secret/etc...)

[juli17ptf]

No: HPFGUIDX 147279


maria8162001 wrote in
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/147133 :
> 
> <<  I've also read Mr. Rickman's (Snape) interview and he said also
> that there is more to Snape than what you see or how he look,
> something like that. >>

Catlady wrote:
> 
> My recollection is that when the first Potter movie was cast, JKR 
told
> a secret to Rickman and a secret to Coltrane, something she didn't
> tell even the director, something they needed to know to play their
> characters. There was a lot of speculation at the time of what these
> secrets might be -- maybe that Hagrid was going to die in the
> then-upcoming fourth book, maybe why Dumbledore trusted Snape so 
much.
> It occured to me recently that both secrets may have been revealed 
in
> GoF -- Hagrid's secret that he is half-giant, Snape's secret that he
> is a branded Death Eater.
> 

Julie now:
GoF did reveal both secrets, but I don't think either of the above 
are the "secrets" JKR revealed to Rickman and Coltrane. Particularly 
in Coltrane's case, why would he need to know Hagrid's a half-giant? 
This knowledge wouldn't change his performance or interpretation of 
the character in any appreciable way I can think of--big, big man, or 
giant, it's pretty much the same as far as Hagrid's nature (unless of 
course he's been emotionally affected by his half-giant heritage in 
ways we can't yet imagine--for instance he going to become ESE!Hagrid-
-er, NOT!).

I suppose she could have revealed to Rickman that Snape was a DE, but 
then added that he is a reformed DE--or--maybe he's just pretending 
to be reformed, or he's willing to take whichever side will most 
benefit him, etc. Snape's such a deliberately ambiguous character 
that I'm not sure how it would be beneficial to reveal what he 
appears to be at any point throughout the books EXCEPT at the end. 
That's the only way Rickman would know to play Snape either as 
essentially "Good" (on the side of DD/Order) or "Evil" (on 
Voldemort's side or on with an agenda to become the next Dark Lord) 
throughout the movies. 

I do think whatever JKR revealed must have had a bit of bang, enough 
so it would affect both Rickman's and Coltrane's portrayals of their 
characters even in the early films. I also suspect that the two 
secrets are related, i.e., that Snape and Hagrid both know something 
or have some sort of connection that we haven't yet learned, which 
almost certainly pertains to Harry. And which will also explain their 
mutual tolerance and acceptance (even support, in Hagrid's case) of 
each other, when they couldn't be two more different people.

Julie