“Harry Potter” Alumni Remember Dame Maggie Smith
We learned the sad news on Friday that Dame Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall) passed away at age 89 – coincidentally, exactly one year after the death of her Harry Potter co-star Sir Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore). The tributes to her from former Harry Potter cast and crew members quickly poured in.
Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered the first time he met Smith, while working on David Copperfield, in a statement to 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.
Emma Watson shared warm words of admiration for Smith on Instagram Stories.
When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend – the woman I was fortunate enough to share space with. It is only as I’ve become an adult that I’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness. She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own. Thank you for all of your kindness. I’ll miss you.
Rupert Grint paid tribute to Maggie Smith in an Instagram post showing the scene in which McGonagall dances with Ron while instructing the Gryffindors before the Yule Ball. He described how he feels “particularly lucky to have shared a dance” with her.
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In her post, Bonnie Wright reminisced about the same scene, describing it as her “favourite scene with Maggie.”
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Tom Felton expressed his sadness and thanked Smith for her guidance during filming.
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Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter films, warmly recalled his memories of Maggie Smith, including meeting her to discuss the role of McGonagall for 90 minutes.
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David Yates, director of the last four Potter films, shared his thoughts and memories via the Guardian.
Maggie was a true force of nature on set, formidable, often intimidating – gigantically talented – and always precisely prepared. She also had a wicked sense of humour and a good heart.
At one point, half way through a marathon schedule of relentless production – I’d been shooting four of the ‘Potter’ movies back to back – she pulled Yvonne (my wife) to one side and chastised her for not looking after me properly through a particularly heavy run of night shoots.
Maggie was, very simply, acting royalty, and the presence and power of her work never faltered or dimmed, even when she was struggling with some health-related issues on one of the films. Her personality and her talent lit up whichever set she graced. I’ve been very lucky to work with a huge number of talented actors, but Maggie hovers somewhere above them all.
Devon Murray (Seamus Finnegan) described Smith as “the kindest, most caring and loving Lady [he’s] ever met” and recalled some of his favorite behind-the-scenes moments working with her.
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Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley) remembered her as “brilliantly talented, waspishly sharp tongued, funny, kind [and] intimidating.”
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James Phelps (Fred Weasley), Afshan Azad (Padma Patil), and Anna Shaffer (Romilda Vane) also posted on Instagram Stories, expressing their gratitude for the opportunity to share the screen with Maggie Smith.
Graphic design team MinaLima expressed their own thankfulness for getting to work with her.
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And David Holmes, the Harry Potter stunt actor who was the subject of a documentary and also has a memoir coming out soon, described her as “the utmost professional, not one to suffer fools but also incredibly kind and patient” and seemingly recalled one of the same memories as Devon Murray.
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MuggleNet thanks Dame Maggie Smith for her beloved work on the Harry Potter series and offers condolences to her family and friends.
