Alan Rickman discusses new film “A Little Chaos” at Toronto International Film Festival

by · September 10, 2014

Actor Alan Rickman, who played Professor Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films, was recently interviewed by Entertainment Weekly as his film A Little Chaos nears its debut at the close of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 14. A period romantic drama, A Little Chaos was directed by Rickman – his first time directing since The Winter Guest in 1997. Kate Winslet stars opposite actor Matthias Schoenaerts, playing “a strong-willed 17th-century French gardener who challenges sexual and class barriers when she vies to design and build one of the main showcase attractions at King Louis’s XIV’s new palace at Versailles,” as described by Entertainment Weekly.

Rickman himself appears in the film in the role of King Louis XIV. When asked what made the film’s story so special to him, Rickman responded,

Well, it’s as special as any good script that one reads. […] This one had just beautiful writing in it, and that’s Alison Deegan – she’s the screenwriter. […] And it’s a cumulative thing, with great writing. It’s not firing on all guns every moment, but hopefully it has a kind of cumulative effect.

He was also asked about what it was like to work once again with Kate Winslet, with whom he had previously worked on Sense and Sensibility (1995). On Winslet’s development as an actress, he said,

Well, obviously she’s not the same, but many of the things that one loved about her then are the same, which are she’s immensely brave, and she’s phenomenally prepared, which is a great gift. […] There are things going on that I wasn’t necessarily asking for or expecting. She’s thinking freshly all the time, […] and it’s gold dust when you have an actor like Kate.

The interviewer later comments that, in his portrayal of Louis XIV, Rickman “has that all-encompassing stare” known to fans from his role in the Harry Potter films, which sounds incredibly promising to us. (It doesn’t hurt that both characters have some interesting choices of hairstyle either!)  For a first look, check out the clip below:

If you would like to find out more about seeing A Little Chaos at TIFF, you can do so here. You can also read the full interview with Alan by going here.

Are you excited to see Alan Rickman’s work behind the camera? What do you think of his playing Louis XIV? Do you think that any character could come close to his portrayal as Professor Snape? We’d love to hear what you think!