Daniel Radcliffe mourns the passing of his Harry Potter co-star, Dame Maggie Smith, who died on September 27, at age 89.
Maggie, who acted as the students’ favorite professor, McGonagall, along with Radcliffe in the Harry Potter films, died in hospital after an incredible 70-year acting career.
Paying tribute to her on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Radcliffe said: “The first time I met Maggie Smith I was nine 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.” Radcliffe admitted that he was not aware of his co-star or her work at the time. However, his parents were happy that he would be working with her in his debut film.
The actor continued stating, “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!”
“The Woman in Black” actor recalled feeling “nervous” about meeting Smith, but she quickly made him feel “at ease” with her words and presence. He revealed to the media outlet, “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.”
He also spoke of her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue,” and said she “could intimidate and charm in the same instant,” and was extremely funny.
Radcliffe expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the late actor as he said, “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.”
Harry Potter’s Beloved Professor, Minerva McGonagall
The late actress, who is a part of the Harry Potter film series, is also a part of J.K. Rowling’s fictional novels of the same name. As stated earlier, she played the character of Professor “Minerva McGonagall.”
Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin announced in a statement, “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.” They added, “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren, who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
