That Awkward Moment When Professor Snape Challenges Jimmy Fallon To A Rickman-Off — With Helium [Video]


Professor Snape is the character in Harry Potter that everyone loved to hate, and then, when it turned out he was the good guy, just loved to love. But even amidst all that love, people were still a little scared of him — and the actor who portrayed him, Alan Rickman.

But what if you were Jimmy Fallon and previously had a Rickman-off with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch which Alan Rickman had seen?

I’d be scared too.

Last Tuesday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Alan Rickman returned to settle the Rickman-off score with Fallon — by making them conduct an interview while inhaling helium. The results are hilarious!

After Jimmy Fallon refers to the helium balloons Rickman provided as “Jimmy Fallon truth-telling machines,” Alan Rickman makes Jimmy Fallon apologize to him for the Rickman-off, and then they go on to talk about Rickman’s most famous movies series, Harry Potter. Jimmy Fallon convinces Rickman to inhale helium before saying the names of both the character he played, Professor Snape, and the character he was sworn to protect, Harry Potter.

Alan Rickman’s revenge was two years in the making, with the original Rickman-off occurring back in 2013. So what exactly is a Rickman-off? You can see for yourself in the video below of Jimmy Fallon’s original interview with Benedict Cumberbatch. But, basically, it involves both Fallon and Cumberbatch singing songs while impersonating Alan Rickman.

Jimmy Fallon and Benedict Cumberbatch originally participated in the Rickman-off after Fallon heard Cumberbatch was a huge fan of Alan Rickman, Fallon later explained to the star. Cumberbatch appeared on the show after Alan Rickman had appeared in 2013, and that is why the subject came up.

“It’s because you were on the show, and then Benedict brought up that we were both fans of yours.”

Jimmy Fallon regularly has celebrities returning to his show to correct or call comment to incidents on previous Tonight Show segments that have included them. Most recently, Hugh Jackman returned to teach Fallon the correct way to eat Vegemite after Jimmy tried the product in a previous show and hated it.

While Alan Rickman may be best known for his movies, it seems that if you travel American Airlines, you might also be mistaken for thinking he has taken up a day job due to American Airlines employee David Dolci bearing a striking resemblance to the actor as Professor Snape. An image of the employee recently went viral.

What do you think of Alan Rickman and Jimmy Fallon on helium? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

[Image credit: NBC / The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon screen capture]

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