Daniel Radcliffe Pays Tribute to His Late 'Harry Potter' Co-Star Maggie Smith
Danielle Radcliffe is remembering his late Harry Potter co-star, Maggie Smith. The legendary actress' sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, announced on Sept. 27 that Smith had died "peacefully in hospital" that morning. She was 89 years old.
Radcliffe of course worked with Smith on the eight films in the Harry Potter franchise, in which he played the titular character and she played the beloved Professor Minerva McGonagall. In a statement via Variety, Radcliffe remembers her being extremely welcoming to him when he was just a child.
"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," he says. "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," he continues. "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."
Radcliffe, now 35, remembers Smith as "a fierce intellect [who] could intimidate and charm in the same instant" and notes that she was "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," he shares. "The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie."
Radcliffe isn't the only one of Smith's co-stars paying tribute to her. On Friday, Whoopi Goldberg, who worked with Smith in the Sister Act films, also shared her own message.
"Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress," Whoopi posted on Instagram alongside a picture of the two in their nun costumes. "I still can't believe I was lucky enough to work with the 'one-of-a-kind.' My heartfelt condolences go out to the family...RIP."
