Alan Rickman Brings Drama to the Tea Party

Esteemed thespian and movie icon Alan Rickman has played a lot of villains. Being such an evil presence requires a heavy hand in just about everything he does, including some of the most mundane activities. He could make playing with a litter of happy puppies seem like the most sinister thing a man can do.

He brings that same gravitas to this series of artistic slow-motion videos.

Rickman was tapped by artist David Michalek for his 'Portraits in Dramatic Time' series that premiered at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York City last year. The video series put the actors in a 10 by 10 foot playing space and gave them 10 to 15 seconds to turn it into a dramatic work of art. Meanwhile, slow motion cameras captured the entire sequence to heighten its dramatic elements. The goal was to turn each scene into "a physical metaphor for an emotional condition."

In this scene, Rickman is sitting behind a desk in a plain looking office. He was tasked with making a simple glass of tea. The path that he takes it is pure Rickman.