Alan Rickman was the toughest actor I ever interviewed — and the smartest

Rickman wasn't an easy interview.
Alan Rickman died this week at age 69, and while his role in "Harry Potter" sprang to mind for many, I remembered a different movie.

It was 2008's "Bottle Shock," an offbeat little film about the early days of the California wine business.

Rickman played Steven Spurrier, an English wine merchant who staged a now-legendary taste-off between French and California wines — that the Californians won!

I recalled "Bottle Shock" because I interviewed Rickman about it, when I was living in Los Angeles and doing celebrity journalism, writing profiles for the LA Times. I had been a longtime admirer of Rickman thanks to a great movie called "Truly, Madly, Deeply," directed by the late Anthony Minghella before he achieved much larger fame with "The English Patient."

Rickman was remarkable. You generally interview movie actors under two scenarios: at breakfast or lunch, usually at a restaurant of the actor's choosing, sometimes at his or her home; or at media cattle calls in fancy hotels. The "Bottle Shock" interview took place at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, in a suite of rooms.

You could tell Rickman was holding his nose about the whole thing, remaining almost completely -read more-https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/alan-rickman-toughest-actor-ever-141700321.html