Editing Severus Snape (section)

== Portrayal in media ==
=== Film ===
Severus Snape is portrayed by [[Alan Rickman]] in all eight [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'' films]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/videos-first-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-ii-abc-family-preview-80278/|title=UPDATED Videos: First Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II ABC Family preview - SnitchSeeker.com|website=www.snitchseeker.com|access-date=30 March 2011|archive-date=21 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321175214/http://www.snitchseeker.com/harry-potter-news/videos-first-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-ii-abc-family-preview-80278/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rickman was Rowling's personal choice to portray the character.<ref>{{cite news |title= The First Look at Harry |url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1001148-3,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070320205146/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1001148-3,00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 20 March 2007 |author=Jess Cagle |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=5 November 2001 |access-date=31 March 2008}}</ref> He had conversations with Rowling about his character and is one of the few ''Harry Potter'' actors that she spoke to prior to the completion of the book series about the future direction of the character.<ref>{{cite news |title=JK Rowling interview in full |publisher=[[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/tv_film/newsid_1634000/1634994.stm |access-date=29 July 2007 |date=2 November 2001 |archive-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916230048/http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/tv_film/newsid_1634000/1634994.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> "He knew very early on that he'd been in love with Lily," said Rowling. "He needed to understand […] where this bitterness towards this boy who's the living example of her preference for another man came from."<ref name="PotterCast">{{cite web |title=Anelli, Melissa, John Noe and Sue Upton. "PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, part two." |url=http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/1224-pottercast-anelli.html |access-date=31 March 2008 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111183644/http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2007/1224-pottercast-anelli.html |url-status=live }}</ref>[[Image:Young Severus Snape.jpg|thumb|Teenage Severus Snape ([[Alec Hopkins]]) in ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''|left]]Rickman used this knowledge of Snape's ultimate loyalties throughout the films to decide how to play certain scenes, deliver specific lines, or use body language to convey specific emotions.<ref name="herocomplex.latimes.com">{{cite web|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|title='Harry Potter': Alan Rickman looks back on decade of dark magic|url=http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/harry-potter-alan-rickman-looks-back-on-decade-of-dark-magic/|work=Hero Complex|access-date=9 June 2013|archive-date=21 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130621140306/http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/harry-potter-alan-rickman-looks-back-on-decade-of-dark-magic/|url-status=live}}</ref> When the directors of the films would ask him why he was doing a scene a certain way or delivering a line in a specific manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't.<ref name="herocomplex.latimes.com" />

Rickman himself refrained from talking about Snape, asking readers to wait and "see what unfolds" in the course of the novels; however, he did say Snape is a complicated person, very rigid and full of himself; in an interview he went further, saying: "Snape isn't one who enjoys jokes and I strongly fear that his sense of humour is extremely limited... But in his defence, I will add that he didn't have an easy adolescence, particularly during his studies at Hogwarts."<ref name="Interviews Transcripts">{{cite web |title= Alan Rickman Interviews Transcripts about Snape |url= http://whysnape.tripod.com/rickman.htm |access-date= 12 March 2008 |archive-date= 8 December 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071208163840/http://whysnape.tripod.com/rickman.htm |url-status= live }}</ref> He also said Snape is a fascinating character, and that he takes immense pleasure in playing such an ambiguous person.<ref name="French Interview Translation">{{cite web |title= Alan Rickman – French Interview Translation |url= http://whysnape.tripod.com/rickmanfrench.htm |access-date= 12 March 2008 |archive-date= 30 April 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080430025522/http://whysnape.tripod.com/rickmanfrench.htm |url-status= live }}</ref>

Rickman's performance as Snape was widely acclaimed by critics, fans and Rowling herself. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' listed Rickman as one of the most popular movie stars in 2007 for his performance as Snape, saying: "As the icy, humourless magic instructor Severus Snape, Rickman may not be on screen long—but he owns every minute."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The movie stars we're loving right now |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20043289_20043293_20043278_3,00.html |magazine=EW.com |access-date=23 March 2008 |archive-date=5 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305172056/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20043289_20043293_20043278_3,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Rickman also noted fans' reactions; in an interview, he said he found "that people in general adore Snape. He is sarcastic, stubborn, etc, etc. But he is also fascinating. I have a lot of fun impersonating him."<ref name="French Interview Translation" /> Rickman was nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Snape, and in 2011, was elected the best character portrayal in all the ''Harry Potter'' films series.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harrypotter-poll-idUSTRE76D1FC20110714 | work=Reuters | first=Jill | last=Serjeant | title=Snape voted greatest "Potter" character in MTV poll | date=14 July 2011 | access-date=5 July 2021 | archive-date=13 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113154513/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-harrypotter-poll-idUSTRE76D1FC20110714 | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, [[Empire (magazine)|''Empire'' magazine]] published an open letter from Rickman to J.K. Rowling, ruminating on the ten years of working on the Potter films and thanking her for telling the story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jeffkatz.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a721c2d7970b0154329054d6970c-800wi|title=jeffkatz.typepad.com|access-date=23 July 2011|archive-date=31 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331174831/http://jeffkatz.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a721c2d7970b0154329054d6970c-800wi|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]'', the fifteen-year-old Snape (portrayed by [[Alec Hopkins]]) makes a brief appearance in a flashback to Snape's youth. In the final film, ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2]]'', the younger Snape, perhaps ten or eleven, is played by Benedict Clarke. In 2016, a [[fan film]] prequel, ''[[Severus Snape and the Marauders]]'', was released online and Snape was played by [[Morgana Ignis]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Fraser Mcalpine |title=Harry Potter Fan Film 'Severus Snape and the Marauders' |publisher=BBC America |date=4 August 2017 |url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/07/watch-harry-potter-fan-film-severus-snape-and-the-marauders/ |access-date=4 August 2017 |archive-date=5 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805021023/http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/07/watch-harry-potter-fan-film-severus-snape-and-the-marauders/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Before Alan Rickman was offered the role of Severus Snape, the role was offered to [[Tim Roth]],<ref>{{cite news |author=Shawn Adler |title=What Would "Potter" Have Been Like With Tim Roth As Snape? |publisher=MTV |date=7 December 2007 |url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/12/07/what-would-potter-have-been-like-with-tim-roth-as-snape/ |access-date=8 December 2007 |archive-date=8 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208234206/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/12/07/what-would-potter-have-been-like-with-tim-roth-as-snape/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> who turned it down in favour of portraying General Thade in ''[[Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|Planet of the Apes]]''.<ref>''[[The Nerdist Podcast]]'' episode 776: "Tim Roth". 23 December 2015.</ref>

=== Television ===

Snape is set to be portrayed by [[Paapa Essiedu]] in the [[Harry Potter#Television|HBO television adaption]] of the [[Harry Potter]] series.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hibberd |first=James |date=14 April 2025 |title=HBO Reveals 'Harry Potter' Remake Cast, From Hagrid to Snape to Quirrell |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/harry-potter-cast-hbo-1236189812/ |access-date=21 April 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=McIntosh |first1=Steven |title=HBO confirms first cast members for Harry Potter TV series |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c15vlv3glzqo |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=21 April 2025 |date=14 April 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Stage ===
''[[Harry Potter and the Cursed Child]]'' is a play written by [[Jack Thorne]] from a story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling and [[John Tiffany]]. In the play, Draco Malfoy's son [[Scorpius Malfoy|Scorpius]] finds himself in an alternate timeline in which Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts, killed Harry, and instituted a reign of terror. Scorpius desperately searches for help in restoring history to its original course. He finds that in this reality Snape is still alive and still teaches at Hogwarts, and asks for his help. At first Snape is suspicious of him, since this timeline's version of Scorpius is a bully and a Voldemort stalwart. But when Scorpius shows that he knows of Snape having been in love with Lily, Harry's mother – Snape's most closely guarded secret – Snape becomes convinced that he does indeed come from a different timeline where Harry and his friends won. Snape then reveals that he, together with the fugitive Ron and [[Hermione Granger]], maintain the last remnants of [[Dumbledore's Army]] – still waging hopeless resistance against the all-powerful Voldemort. In talking with Scorpius, Snape had learned that Harry would name his son "Albus Severus" and would regard Snape as "probably the bravest man I ever knew" – and is deeply moved. Though having guessed that in the other timeline he would die, Snape nevertheless willingly helps Scorpius recreate this timeline – and being discovered by [[Dementor]]s, Snape sacrifices himself in order to cover Scorpius' escape.