Alan Rickman Was Apparently Driven “Insane” By One Love Actually Scene

Severus Snape would probably not be a huge fan of the comedic stylings of Mr. Bean, and apparently fact isn’t that far from fiction. In a new ABC news special “The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later,” the cast and crew of the beloved holiday romantic comedy revealed that the late Alan Rickman was driven “insane” by his scene with Rowan Atkinson. 

Love Actually director Richard Curtis revisited the iconic scene which finds Rickman’s Harry sneaking away from his wife Karen (Emma Thompson) at the mall purchase a diamond necklace for, Mia (Heike Makatsch) an attractive younger woman who works at his office. While at the register, he has to deal with Atkinson’s eccentric clerk Rufus who promises to have Harry’s gift wrapped “in the flashiest of flashes,” but takes a comically long time adding unnecessary flourishes like a gold ribbon, flower buds, lavender, cinnamon stick, and a sprig of holly. 

While the scene is a comedic showcase for Atkinson, Rickman apparently didn’t find it all that funny at the time. “Rowan was just taking his time,” Curtis told Diane Sawyer. “So, he would do 11-minute takes.” The length of the takes and the improvisation was apparently grating to Rickman. “[Rowan would say], ‘Let’s go back and do that. Let’s start again.’ And poor Alan was there all the time, going, ‘Grr, ugh.’” Luckily, Rickman’s frustration with the scene worked perfectly for his character, whose impatience with the situation is palpable. Sometimes, method acting really is the way to go.