Daniel Radcliffe pens emotional tribute to Harry Potter 'legend' Dame Maggie Smith
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has paid tribute to the late Dame Maggie Smith, who died on Friday (September 27).
Dame Maggie Smith dead aged 89
Daniel Radcliffe has broken his silence following the death of Dame Maggie Smith. The pair first became acquainted in 1999 upon starring in the BBC two-part drama, David Copperfield.
35-year-old Daniel, who is best known for portraying the titular character of the Harry Potter movies, claimed he knew “virtually” nothing about Maggie when he was cast in David Copperfield. At the time, the father-of-one portrayed a younger version of Charles Dickens’ titular character while she starred as Betsey Trotwood.
Following their initial introduction, the pair later worked opposite each other on seven of the eight Harry Potter movies - Daniel as the titular character again and Maggie as the stern Transfiguration teacher Professor Minerva McGonagall. Following the star’s death on Friday (September 27), aged 89, Daniel has paid tribute to the actress.
In his missive, he recounted the first time he met her on the set of David Copperfield. “I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her.
“The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was "Would you like me to call you Dame?" at which she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘Don't be ridiculous!".
He continued to tell Variety that he was “nervous to meet her” but he remembered her being “incredibly kind”.
“Then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.”
Daniel went on to say Maggie “was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.”
Concluding his statement, the father-of-one claimed he considered himself “amazingly lucky” to have been paired with her on-screen for so many years.
“The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you, Maggie.”
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The Sister Act favourite’s death was announced by her surviving sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens. In a statement shared via a publicist, they described their late mother as an “intensely private person”.
“She was with friends and family at the end,” they continued. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
The pair, whom she shares with her first husband, the late actor Robert Stephens, went on to thank the staff at the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital where she spent her final days.
As well as appearing in the Harry Potter franchise, Maggie was known for her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey.
She portrayed the matriarch of the Crawley family for six seasons and appeared in the subsequent spin-off movies that both premiered on the silver screen.
