27 volumes of diaries of the late actor Alan Rickman, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer, will be published as a book next year.
The Guardian reports that the Die Hard and Michael Collins star’s journals record his thoughts on a wide range of subjects, from acting to insights on friendships and politics.
He also wrote reviews of the plays he attended and shared behind-the-scenes stories from the set of Harry Potter, which he was a part of between 2001 and 2011, playing Severus Snape.
The diaries cover more than 25 years of Rickman’s life and career and will appear as a single book.
The Guardian reports that the London-born actor began writing his journals in the early ’90s with the intention of publishing them.
He was born in 1946 in London to a working-class family, the son of Irishwoman Margaret Doreen Rose and Bernard Rickman, a factory worker.
He worked first as a graphic designer but was awarded a place at RADA, which he attended from 1972 to 1974. After graduation he worked with British repertory and experimental theatre groups.
The Diaries of Alan Rickman will be published by Canongate and speaking to The Guardian, the actor's widow Rima Horton said, "I’m delighted that Canongate will be publishing Alan’s diaries and couldn’t have wished for a finer appointment of editor than Alan Taylor.
"The diaries reveal not just Alan Rickman the actor but the real Alan - his sense of humour, his sharp observation, his craftsmanship and his devotion to the arts."
She added that the diaries were "anecdotal, indiscreet, witty, gossipy and utterly candid. They make compulsive reading and offer a peerless insight into the daily life of a remarkable actor, who was as beloved in the US as he surely was in the UK"
