Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries

 

Alan Rickman was one of my favorite actors. He was such a convincing character, no matter which kind he played, and – oh! – that voice! When he died in January 2016, I felt such a loss; all the plays and films he would never be in. But in 2022, when Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries (edited by Alan Taylor) was published, I was looking forward to knowing more about his life and thoughts.

However, with 480 pages, which include a section of photographs, illustrations from his diaries, index, appendix and preface, there isn’t much detail about his life.

This book is my choice for the category Memoir/Biography of the 2025 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.

The diary entries are from 1993, when he started writing regularly, to 2015, which was shortly before his death. There is an Appendix of the occasional diary entries he made earlier. This is described as, “Alan Rickman kept occasional diaries from around 1993 to 1982 and the again, more fulsomely and regularly from 1993 to the end of his life.” These entries were the most interesting for me because they were longer and more detailed. The entries in the main part of the book are certainly more “regular,” but not at all more “fulsome”. Rather, they are short tidbits of what he did that day.

In general, they are not so interesting to read. They seem more like entries in a pocket calendar. But he wrote these notes for himself; there wouldn’t have been any reason to go into detail in order to remember “Lunch with X”.

I was particularly interested in his entries during the time he worked on films I had seen, but here as well, the entries are short and random.

For example, some consecutive entries from 2004, at the start of filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

"11 November

HP.

7.15 pick-up.

In Dumbledore’s office with Maggie … My speech is unlearnable. So some serious laughing goes on. Plus Maggie’s stories of the Ladies in Lavender premiere: ‘Miriam Margolyes looked like a Sherman tank in sequins.’

15 November

3pm Cutter and Gross [opticians] to get Rima an eye test and new glasses. Staggering prices …

Today I made the Vogue list and was a question on University Challenge (they hadn’t a clue).

17 November

HP.

7.15 pick-up.

Running in, pointing a wand. Expensive Dr Who stuff. Maggie and Michael really beginning to tire now – as in join the queue – of this monumental waste of energies.

23 November

HP.

7.15 pick-up.

For the only Snape v Potter scene of the film and of course I get shafted. First, the line-up at 8 was with a stand-in. Why not tell me beforehand – we are basically rehearsing. Then the announcement which said they were going for a ridiculous number of set-ups. So we all had to be super-on-the-ball, please."

I loved the Ang Lee version of Sense and Sensibility, as well as Rickman’s role. But he didn’t seem to think much of it, according to his few entries about the film and filming. On 26 April [1995], the day after beginning preparations for the film, he wrote:

“9.35 Train back to London.

Still feeling faintly depressed by yesterday. So much attention to ‘The Look’. What about ‘The Content’?

And what about creating a working environment with Ang – who, reading between the already apparent lines, is used to ‘conducting’ his actors, rather than nurturing.

Hugh G. says they are having a ‘worst notes’ competition. Fairly typical Grant-Activity. However, ‘that was dull’ does not sound too helpful.”

And another entry on 13 May:

“7am call – and finally I’m on …

As it turns out the scene becomes a nightmare of rushed decisions, manipulations, too many looks. It isn’t thought through so time is wasted on fixing the horse to the post in a totally unnecessary way … Which means that acting is out the window … I end the day feeling humiliated and angry – but I can’t show it. Words are expressed to Lindsay Doran [producer], however. But that’s the scene. Forever. It’s no way to work.

Later to Emma’s party. Fight through the (real) depression and dance.”

These examples are among the longer entries in the diary.

He doesn’t go into a lot of detail about his own films, but I enjoyed his comments about films he had seen. Some examples:

"24 February Watch Shawshank Redemption. ‘Expertly done’ would be the review. Not a foot wrong. Classy. I just wish this had not extended even to the immaculate hairdos of all the inmates. When will a director tell a hair person to STOP tidying everyone up – it’s an awful reflex action."

"8.20 Forrest Gump. I had sworn I wouldn’t go. I went and it was as horrific as I had thought but in a totally different way. A clear attempt had been made to dilute the sentimentality, but along the way the film has its cake, eats it and spits it out with Vietnam, ‘unnamed viruses’ etc."

"12.15 Philomena – Gate. Deeply frustrating. Seeming to ride on (correct) assumption of Judi’s greatness allowing quite a lot of script laziness. Watching it is to constantly want to put your hand up and yell ‘Excuse me, what about/why didn’t she/ why hasn’t he???’ Etc., etc. We had to go to Jamie Oliver’s shop immediately afterwards and spend a small fortune in order to recover."

I wonder what he would have written in a true memoir. Perhaps he would never have written such a book because he seemed to be a very private person who would not reveal details about himself or his friends. In fact, I wonder if he would have hated the idea of his diaries being published.