via @tom_burke_fanpage on instagram
Tom Burke reflected on his late godfather, Alan Rickman, saying he was a “huge influence” on his life.
Rickman died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 69. He was a close friend of Tom Burke’s parents — actors David Burke and Anna Calder-Marshall.
Burke explained what it was like having Rickman as a godfather: “He was very hands-on, very in touch. He took me out of my comfort zone. He was constantly asking me what I wanted to do. I remember once saying that I desperately wanted to dance, and he encouraged that.
“He was always suggesting things for me to read and watch, and he helped pay my fees through RADA.”
Burke worked with his godfather on several occasions, the last of which saw him star in a production of Strindberg’s 'Creditors', directed by Rickman, first at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2008, and then two years later when it transferred to Brooklyn.
“Then there was a bit of space for a year or two, which Tom didn’t know were two very important years.” During that time, Rickman’s health worsened before his eventual death from pancreatic cancer in 2016, aged 69.
Even now, Burke says, “there’s an Alan bit of my brain that’s always there.” He gave an example from when he appeared in an episode of 'The Crown', playing the priest Derek “Dazzle” Jennings opposite Helena Bonham Carter’s Princess Margaret.
“There’s a bit where Helena first sees me down the corridor. The director said, ‘I’d like to see you improvise a bit.’ Then I heard Alan’s voice in my head saying, ‘Dancing should be the first thing they do.’ And they did dance down that corridor. I thought it really set the mood of that relationship.”
“Even if you only met him once, he could become a momentary huge influence in your life. He had a way of asking very penetrating questions, often without necessarily meaning to. People would walk away and make quite big life decisions.” ❤️
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