PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE     Harry Potter's least favorite teacher, Professor Severus Snape is the Potions master at Hogwarts who seems to take pleasure in taking points from Gryffindor, and in giving Harry detention. It is commonly known that he would much rather teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. As head of Slytherin house, he unfairly favors the Slytherin students - both in his classes and on the Quidditch pitch.     ALAN RICKMAN is known throughout the world for his performances in films as diverse as Love Actually, Die Hard, An Awfully Big Adventure, Bob Roberts, Dogma, Galaxy Quest and the first four Harry Potter films.     He received BAFTA nominations for Michael Collins and Sense and Sensibility and won the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. He was named Evening Standard Film Actor of the Year for his work in Truly Madly Deeply, Close My Eyes and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and was named Best Actor at the Montreal Film Festival for Mesmer. Additional films include Blow Dry, The Search for John Gissing and Play.     Rickman won the 1996 Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor for his role as the enigmatic Russian monk in HBO's Rasputin. Other television credits include Something the Lord Made (Emmy-nominated for Best Actor), Benefactors, Revolutionary Witness, Spirit of Man, Pity in History, The Barchester Chronicles, Busted and Romeo and Juliet.     As a director, Rickman's work includes Wax Acts and The Winter GuestThe Winter Guest starring Emma Thompson, which won three awards at the Venice Film Festival. The film later won Best Feature at the Chicago Film Festival.     Rickman recently starred in the West End production of Noel Coward's Private Lives, winning both the Variety Club and Theatre Goers Awards for Best Actor. The play enjoyed a sell-out run at the Albery Theatre before moving to Broadway where Rickman was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actor. Upon his return to London, he filmed Love Actually for Richard Curtis and HBO's Something the Lord Made.