Ten Actors that Embodied a Fictional Character: An Alan Rickman Tribute

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a freebie, so I'm using it to tip my hat and raise my wand to Alan Rickman, who passed away on January 14. Rickman was a wonderfully talented actor whose career I had followed since watching him as Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility. I have since seen him in at least a dozen films, but I think most Harry Potter devotees would say that his portrayal of Severus Snape was beyond fantastic, that he truly became that character. Here is my tribute to fictional characters that I feel were really captured by the actors that played them. (I'm trying to limit this to cases where I've both seen the films AND read the books, so if you notice a glaring absence, it's probably because I rarely go to the movies!)

Pardon me while I weep uncontrollably...

1. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series: Obbbbviously.

2. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series: There are so many fabulous actors in the series, but to me, Rupert Grint really is Ron. His expressions just kill me every time. The love potion scene is one of my all-time favourites.

3. Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice: Sorry Matthew Macfadyen fans, but you're all wrong. :P If I had a part B to this entry, it would be Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones films, because he is just the only Darcy the world needs!

Source (and more memes) found here.

4. Megan Follows as Anne of Green Gables: I grew up watching this mini-series and it is near and dear to my heart. I cannot imagine anyone else being Anne. RIP Jonathan Crombie. :(

5. Winona Ryder as Jo March in Little Women: I know there are several adaptations of this story, and I have seen a couple of them, but I just love the 1994 film version, and I felt like Winona really captured Jo's unique personality.

6. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy: Is there any doubt? When I hear him speak in interviews, I am always taken aback because in my mind, he is Aragorn.

7. Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind: I think she managed to capture a character who is actually quite complicated. Scarlett seems vapid and selfish from the get-go, but she's also tough and intelligent. I've always had an admiration for her as a woman who fought for survival and to be taken seriously, even if sometimes I balked at her methods. Leighs performance was perfection.

8. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird: His portrayal was so good that it's hard to really separate the idea of Atticus from Gregory Peck, at least to me.

9. Jack Nicholson as Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Honestly, it was a toss-up for this because I also thought of Nicholson in The Shining. He does crazy really, really well....

10. Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and sequels): Obviously Rapace is not the only Lisbeth, because they made a set of English language adaptations too, but I thought she did a fantastic job and found no need to see the films again in English.

RIP Alan Rickman. We will miss you always.