His air of dignity, his sonorous voice, and the knowing wit he brought to each role continue to captivate audiences today. I read a lot of novels so it took a while to get used to reading a book made up entirely of snippets of someone's thoughts. There was very little in the way of personal insights and if you didn't know the person to whom he was referring then it was hard to glean anything from it.

Some names occur with regularity, such as Ian McKellen, Richard Wilson, and Lindsay Duncan, but the person with the most entries in the index is Ruby Wax. Film fans are left HORRIFIED by Dune 2 promotional popcorn bucket that looks just like a raunchy SEX TOY: 'I do not want to stick my hand in that! Maureen Paton's biography uncovers the tracks of his professional, political and emotional past to finally reveal this most secret of stars. Madly, Deeply features a photo insert, a foreword by Emma Thompson, and an afterword by Rima Horton.Sean Mathias, who directed him and Helen Mirren in Anthony and Cleopatra, is “a big pile of Kleenex”; the playwright David Hare is “more self-involved than any actor I have ever met”. That said, I doubt he really intended these to be published which makes me a little frustrated with myself for reading them. This is partly because Rickman didn’t regard them as his finest work – on collecting a Bafta for Robin Hood, he said: “This will be a healthy reminder to me that subtlety isn’t everything” – but also because of the interviewers who insisted on quizzing him about them, years later. Rickman's writing details the extraordinary and the ordinary in a way that is anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. The diaries themselves run from 1993-his death in 2016, with a foreword by Emma Thompson, introduction by editor Taylor, and afterword by his widow, Rima (whom he married in 2015, fifty years after they first met).

Referring to Harry Potter producers David Heyman, David Barron, and director David Yates as “the three Davids,” Rickman wrote that he wished to “bang the three David’s heads against the nearest wall” after viewing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Rickman, who went on to play Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films, became known as one of the great movie villains, an actor who was magnetic in his menace and fury. In between and since there have been all those wonderful film roles, and not least, his long stint as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films. What was interesting was the information about the film, "Mesmer", which I hadn't realised had ever been completed.About a Boy is, he observes, “the kind of depressing English film where single mothers and Amnesty workers are ugly people in oversized sweaters”. After all, while reading the words on the written page, we often develop our own thoughts on what emotions are at play. True, the book is full of complaints, but a diary is a good place to work through minor frustrations . He eats out several times a week, sometimes with colleagues but more often with friends and his partner, Rima Horton. There are many mentions of shared meals but limited insight into characters (apart from those deemed by Alan to be open, kind and funny).

I guess I'm left wanting more ie more info on Potter and his other films especially,but these diaries are really snippets of his daily journal so were never going to be detailed like that. More of him comes into view when you see what those journals were and from where this material was taken.I was waiting as the date of the death of Natasha Richardson approached, wondering how Rickman would handle the news of her death. Fully, openly, joyfully - truly, madly and, yes, deeply - he put his energies into the present moment . Running from 1993 to his death in 2016, the diaries provide singular insight into Rickman's public and private life.

Rickman is perpetually living in a building site, with workmen ‘plastering, repairing cracks, dust everywhere’. I imagine he would prefer to be remembered for his theatre work, though the majority of that took place in London and far from the world's maddening crowds.

Harry Potter’s Severus Snape is one of the most nuanced characters (if not the most nuanced character) created by J. What is clear right from the start is Rickman is a real fan and supporter of the arts, going to see his many friends in as many performances as possible on stage and screen. Forty pages in and you're not there yet; not in the state of mind that will make this material matter. What a wonderful look into the mind of a talented man, interested in so many things, and able to express his thoughts with humor and flair.