Alan Rickman: “You can’t judge the character you’re playing, ever”

December 5, 2011 by Chris McKittrick

Alan Rickman doesn’t appear on the New York stage very often, so when he does it’s a cause to pay attention. One of the few great English actors who hasn’t gotten a well-deserved “Sir” in front of his name yet, Rickman has returned to the New York stage in Seminar, which also features Jerry O’Connell.

Though British, Rickman has a deep affinity for the Broadway stage than London’s West End. He explains, “I love working in New York theater. … It is very demanding, but it’s good to be in a city where you feel that theater is actually part of the life of the city. You know, London is so sprawling, and you can sometimes forget that anybody else is on a stage anywhere else. But here, it’s, you know, your friends and neighbors.”

So what does Rickman, who has appeared in dozens of movies, enjoy so much about acting for the stage? It’s all about the interplay between the actors, he says.

“I’m very aware that when one is acting in the theater, you do become kind of animal about it. And you’re reliant on instincts rather than tact a lot of the time. So the rehearsal room does become a bit of a marketplace, and new plays risk everybody’s sensibilities. That’s the whole point about them. But, you know, hopefully, ultimately, [Seminar playwright Theresa Rebeck is] happy because she knows we’re all there because we respect her writing so much.”

Daily Actor