All the Harry Potter kids are paying tribute to Maggie Smith
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and other assorted Hogwarts alums have paid tribute to the late Maggie Smith
Photo credits: Anthony Harvey/Getty Images, Mike Marsland/WireImage
Dame Maggie Smith died this week, bringing to an end a legendary seven-decade career on both stage and screen. And while Smith’s death has spawned a very welcome look back at the whole, incredible span of her career, it has also provoked especially strong reactions amongst the fandom for the Harry Potter films, rooted in the strong affection generated by Smith’s warm, funny, sharp performance as Professor Minerva McGonagall in all eight of the original movies. That includes remembrances from many of her young castmates, many of whom—including the film’s central trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint—have opened up on social media this weekend about their feelings of affection, admiration, and just a hint of remembered intimidation at their times working alongside her.
Radcliffe, for instance, remembers working with Smith before being cast in Harry Potter, having met her on the set of the BBC’s adaptation of David Copperfield when he was all of 9. Here’s his extended statement about her, per Variety:
The first time I met Maggie Smith I was 9 years old and we were reading through scenes for David Copperfield, which was my first job. 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!’ I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me immediately at ease. She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.
She 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. I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.