Tim Roth Chose Apes Over Snape!?
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Casting, Remakes and Sequels
I love reading about who was supposed to be in roles, especially those roles where you can't imagine any other actor doing it justice. Sometimes the casting changes are a positive change, and sometimes they're just teamed with actor's wrong choices. This story is one of the latter. While talking to MTV, Tim Roth discussed how he was tapped to play Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series, the role that became famous because of Alan Rickman. Why didn't he take the role? He wanted to be in Planet of the Apes. Ouch. Bad choice!Roth said: "I was going to do both films. We rigged it so that I could fly back and forth. They figured out the schedule, but it just got to be overwhelming in my mind. my kids really liked the books. They were really into me doing it, but the idea of being an ape with Tim was too good." I wonder what his kids think about this decision, or if he regrets it at all, but isn't admitting it. If he had taken the role, he'd be closer to Snape's age in the books, which was late-30s. Instead, they went the Interview with the Vampire route (the super-old Armand) and got Rickman, who is currently 61.
Roth says he would have made his Snape "a very different guy." For sure! Can you imagine Roth as Snape? Would he have done an ever better job, or was the scheduling conflict a great gift to the series?
Stuff and Things: October 15, 2008
Attend Hamptons Fest From the Comfort of Your Living Room_thumbnail.jpg)
Fan Made: Hilarious Obama/McCain Movie Posters
Discuss: The Pre-Stardom Horrors!
Stuff and Things: October 14th, 2008
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg){kind=spacer}
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-10-2007 @ 2:49PM
David said...
Roth might have made an excellent Snape, but I'm convinced that J.K. Rowling pictured Rickman in the role from the start. At one point in "Chamber of Secrets," written before there were any movie deals, she describes Snape as having an expression that "looked as if Christmas had been cancelled," which is, of course, Rickman's most famous line as the Sheriff of Nottingham in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves."
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 2:59PM
joits said...
alan rickman is defiinitely the best choice without a doubt for snape. i'm glad that tim roth chose to do planet of the apes which was a pretty crappy remake. rickman IS snape.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 7:09PM
Robobagins said...
I can't imagine anyone but Rickman in the role. If anyone on the entire cast is spot on, it's him.
Reply
12-10-2007 @ 7:44PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Roth would have been a far more logical choice as he's the age of potter's parents. also, he's a far more sinister personage.
Reply
12-12-2007 @ 5:53PM
Minerva said...
I know a bunch of HP fans that were following Snape because Alan Rickman was playing him. Actually, Rickman is a great actor, and his Snape is perfect. I believe, though, that had Roth listened to his kids and taked the role, Snape would have been more vicious, not as mysterious as Rickman does it.
I'm a rabid Snape fan, BTW. But I'm not a Rickman fan. Although I respect the actor and think he is the BEST one for Snape, I wish I could have had the chance to see a Roth Snape.
Reply