Ever watch a movie and feel like there’s a whole different story happening just behind the actors' eyes? That's basically the vibe of the 1998 indie thriller Dark Harbor. It’s this moody, rain-soaked flick set in Maine, but the real intrigue isn't just the plot twist at the end. It’s the weirdly magnetic, almost electric connection between the late, great Alan Rickman and a very young, pre-Walking Dead Norman Reedus.
Honestly, if you only know Rickman as Snape and Reedus as Daryl Dixon, seeing them together in this movie is a total trip. One is a posh, mid-50s British icon playing a grumpy American lawyer; the other is a 20-something "it boy" with a bruised face and zero lines for the first half of the film.
But it’s what happened when the cameras weren’t rolling—and what Rickman wrote in his private diaries—that has fans still talking decades later.
The Movie Most People Missed
Dark Harbor isn’t exactly a blockbuster. You’ve probably never seen it on a major streaming homepage. It follows David Weinberg (Rickman) and his wife Alexis (Polly Walker) as they try to catch a ferry to their private island. They find a "Young Man" (Reedus) crumpled on the side of the road.
What starts as a reluctant rescue turns into a bizarre, sexually charged power struggle.
Reedus was still a newcomer then. He had that raw, grungy energy that made him famous in The Boondock Saints a year later. Rickman, on the other hand, was the veteran. Despite the age gap and the completely different acting styles, they clicked. Or, more accurately, they collided in a way that made the movie's disturbing ending actually work.
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What the Alan Rickman Diaries Actually Reveal
When Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries was released posthumously, people went straight for the Harry Potter tea. But some of the most fascinating entries are from the autumn of 1997, when he was filming in Maine.
Rickman wasn't always easy to please. He was often critical of scripts and directors. Yet, his notes on Norman Reedus were different. On September 29, he wrote about a "long lunchtime chat" with Reedus. He described the young actor as having "had a life"—mentioning his time on a reservation, in Tokyo, and Spain.
Rickman used words like "dazzled" to describe Norman’s openness. For a man as guarded and precise as Rickman, that’s high praise. He even wrote: "He could achieve anything with it."
The Mystery of Scene 105
If you dig into the fan forums or the diary itself, one specific number keeps coming up: Scene 105.
In his October 30 entry, Rickman describes the filming of this scene in "coded form." He talks about the "temptation to stop in the middle and just say 'Who’s kidding who here—this is mutual isn't it?'"
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Fans have spent years dissecting what "mutual" meant. Was he talking about the intense creative chemistry? Or something deeper? In the movie, their characters share a shocking, passionate kiss that essentially serves as the film's climax. Rickman noted that there were various takes and they kissed "many times," adding a cheeky "who's kidding who here?" to the entry.
Norman Reedus and the "Disastrous" First Kiss
Years later, Norman Reedus told the story of working with Rickman, and it’s way less "dark thriller" and way more "awkward comedy."
In interviews, Reedus has joked about how he had no idea how to do an on-screen kiss back then. He apparently went "full tongue" during a scene with Polly Walker, and the director had to pull him aside to explain that's not how it's done.
But when it came to the big moment with Alan Rickman, Reedus describes it as a highlight of his early career. He’s called it the "best scene ever." There’s a certain sweetness in the way Reedus talks about Rickman—the veteran actor wasn't just a co-star; he was someone who took the younger guy under his wing. Rickman even mentiones in his diary that on the last day of filming, he had to go to Norman’s room, bang on the door, and give him a "head massage" to get him onto the set.
Imagine that for a second. Professor Snape giving a head massage to Daryl Dixon because he’s too tired to get out of bed. It’s a wild image.
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Why This Connection Still Matters
Usually, when two actors make a small movie together, they move on. But the Rickman-Reedus bond feels like one of those "sliding doors" moments in Hollywood.
- Mentorship: Rickman saw the potential in Reedus long before the rest of the world did.
- The Diaries: Rickman's writing offers a rare, unfiltered look at how a master of his craft perceives a rising star.
- The Performance: Dark Harbor is a masterclass in tension. You can tell these two actually liked each other, which makes the characters' psychological games even more unsettling.
Rickman’s diary entries about the end of the shoot are almost melancholic. He wrote about "heartache" and "mixed feelings" as the production wrapped. He clearly felt a deep, if fleeting, connection to the project and the people involved.
How to Experience the Rickman-Reedus Legacy
If you're looking to see this chemistry for yourself, you've gotta track down the movie. It’s not always easy to find.
- Check Physical Media: Dark Harbor is a staple of "manufactured on demand" DVD services. It’s the kind of thing you find on eBay or specialty film sites.
- Read the Diaries: Grab a copy of Madly, Deeply. Don't just skip to the 2000s; the 1997-1998 sections are where the real character studies happen.
- Watch the Accents: Part of the fun is hearing Rickman's "generic American" accent. It’s not perfect, but his presence is so commanding you won't even care.
The story of Alan Rickman and Norman Reedus isn't just about a movie. It’s about the brief, intense intersection of two very different lives. One was at the height of his powers, and the other was just beginning to find his. It reminds you that even in the cynical world of movie-making, real human connections—the kind that leave you "dazzled"—actually happen.
Next time you see Norman Reedus on screen, look for that "openness" Rickman saw. It’s been there since the beginning. It's what made a legendary British actor stop and take notice in a rainy corner of Maine all those years ago.