Alan Rickman was apparently driven “insane” by one Love Actually scene

Severus Snape would not be a huge fan of the comedic stylings of Mr. Bean, and fact isn’t that far from fiction. 

The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later –  a new US ABC News special – sees Diane Sawyer speaking to the director of the beloved holiday romantic comedy and reveals that the late Alan Rickman was driven “insane” by his scene with Rowan Atkinson. 

Love Actually director Richard Curtis revisits the iconic scene that finds Rickman’s Harry sneaking away from his wife, Karen (Emma Thompson), at the mall to purchase a gold 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, a 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 tells Sawyer. “So he would do 11-minute takes.” The length of the takes and the improvisation were 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. 

This article originally appeared on Vanity Fair.