Last week the world lost one of its finest actors, Alan Rickman—but to those who knew him, he was much more. To Emma Thompson, he was the “ultimate ally,” as the Oscar winner recalled in her emotional tribute. To J.K. Rowling, he was the safekeeper of Harry Potter secrets. And to Helen Mirren, Rickman was the literal Antony to her Cleopatra in the 1998 stage show at Britain’s National Theater.

“I was quite intimidated when I first met him,” Mirren tells The Hollywood Reporter in a sweet interview about her former co-star. “He’s a quite imposing-looking man. He was tall. He had this incredible large head with this incredible Roman emperor kind of visage and a wonderfully sardonic expression on his face.”

Of their experience onstage together, Mirren recalls, “It was difficult because he stepped in at the last minute when the actor who was originally playing the role dropped out. . . . He came in and very courageously jumped in. Antony and Cleopatra is an extremely emotionally demanding play. . . . He was extremely generous on stage.”

Here is a glimpse of the two together onstage in said production, which will make you want to build a time machine:

“The reality of Alan inside of that was quite a vulnerable, emotional person, which made him all the more interesting and lovable,” Mirren continues. “I remember that when Antony and Cleopatra ended he gave me a gift: it wasn’t anything new. It was a beautiful old antique bracelet, a little bit broken and just absolutely beautiful and it was so classically Alan.”

Mirren seems to cherish her recollections of Rickman offstage as well, remembering, “He was also very twinkly and kind and gossipy and generous. Alan loved to go to restaurants, to sit and chat, drink some wine and gossip about actors and acting, directors and plays. I know in America you mostly know him as a film actor, but in Great Britain, we are very aware of him as a consummate theater actor as well. He was adored by everyone who knew him.”

While the two did eventually sign onto another project together, the upcoming Eye in the Sky, the actors did not end up sharing any scenes—a point, Mirren says, “I’m very, very upset about.”

Related: Read Emma Thompson’s Emotional Tribute to Her Friend Alan Rickman