This Alan Rickman quote about 'Harry Potter' is going viral — but he never said it

British actor Alan Rickman, a star whose career spanned nearly three decades, died at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer on Thursday.

Fans are reacting on social media with pictures and quotes of the iconic star from their favorite movies or interviews, but one meme that’s being shared was never said by Rickman at all.

“When I’m 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I’ll be reading Harry Potter,” the quote card says. “And my family will say to me, ‘After all this time?’ And I will say, ‘Always.’”

Though the quote appears over a picture of Rickman and is attributed to him, Tech Insider can not find a single source that credits Rickman aside from Tumblr, Imgur, and Twitter posts.

The text appears to have been lifted from a comment on a Movie Web contest to win “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2” prizes. To enter, commenters responded with why they felt they deserved the prizes.

Here’s what a commenter named Tiffany said [emphasis ours]:

I've grown up reading "Harry Potter." Each and every character has taught me how to be a better person. Whenever I'm feeling upset, I always reread a "Harry Potter" book and no matter how bad things get, I'll always have the "Harry Potter" books to get completely absorbed in and just forget about all my worries.

Watching the last "Harry Potter" movie at the midnight premiere, I starting breaking down in sobs at the Warner Brothers logo at the beginning. I couldn't help but thinking that this movie was basically the end of "Harry Potter": From that day on, I wouldn't have anything to look forward to.

I know that's not true; I'll always have my worn-out books to reread over and over again. I'll always marathon the "Harry Potter" movies every weekend. I'll still have fanfiction to read, "A Very Potter Musical" and [the] sequel to watch, and Wrock to rock out to.

Because, as long as there's still one person that believes in the magic of Harry Potter, this legendary book series will never die. I plan on sharing this series with my children and grandchildren. When I'm 80 years old and sitting in my rocking chair, I'll be reading Harry Potter. And my family will say to me, "After all this time?" And I will say, "Always."

A 2011 GoodReads discussion board also noticed Tiffany’s comment, and pointed out, “Tiffany’s post was from July [2011] while all the posts that mention Rickman with [the quote] weren’t until a couple of weeks ago [in 2011].” 

And a fan site dedicated to Alan Rickman also claims he never said the quote. “A fan said this about themselves and ever since Alan Rickman dedicated blogs reflagged that quote, people are now under the impression that Alan said this.”

So share your Rickman memes with caution.

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