Maggie Smith tributes: Harry Potter and Downton Abbey co-stars pay respect to acting legend
‘Downton Abbey’ co-star Hugh Bonneville says Oscar-winning Harry Potter actor was a ‘true legend’
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Dame Maggie Smith’s Downton Abbey co-star Hugh Bonneville and Harry Potter co-star Bonnie Wright have led tributes to the iconic actor after she died at the age of 89.
Bonneville, who starred alongside Dame Maggie in the ITV drama, remembered her as a “true legend of her generation” who had “sharp wit and formidable talent”.
Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter film franchise, recalled her favorite scene with Smith being “when we were all learning to dance for the Yule Ball” in the fourth movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Dame Maggie played a number of iconic roles over the years, including Professor McGonagall in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise and the fanatical teacher Jean Brodie in The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie.
Her sons Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens announced on Friday the Oscar-winning actress had died in Chelsea and Westminster hospital.
A statement from her children said: “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27 September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.
“She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.
“We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Maggie Smith fans remember actor’s ‘early years’ before Harry Potter and Downton Abbey
One Maggie Smith fan has shared an old clip from the actor’s 1975 appearance on The Carol Burnett Show.
“Everyone will be talking about Harry Potter and Downton, but early years Maggie Smith was so so good,” they praised.
Whoopi Goldberg shares Sister Act throwback in tribute to co-star Maggie Smith: ‘One of a kind’
Whoopi Goldberg has paid tribute to her Sister Act co-star Dame Maggie Smith following her death at the age of 89.
Smith played Reverend Mother Superior in the hit 1992 comedy that starred Goldberg as a lounge singer who goes into witness protection in a convent.
On Instagram, Goldberg wrote: “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. 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.”
Read more:
Goldberg remembered the late actor as ‘a great woman and a brilliant actress’
The View hosts pause show to pay tribute to ‘brilliant’ Maggie Smith
Whoopi Goldberg’s fellow The View co-hosts stepped in to pay tribute to her former Sister Act co-star Maggie Smith on the latest episode of the daytime talk show.
Read more:
Smith starred alongside ‘The View’ co-host Whoopi Goldberg in the Sister Act film series
Rupert Grint’s Instagram profile picture takes on new meaning after Maggie Smith death
Since he first opened his Instagram account, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint’s profile picture has been a precious photo of Maggie Smith planting a kiss on his cheek.
Harry Potter fans share favorite Professor McGonagall scenes
Maggie Smith called ‘one of the greats’ as hilarious Harry Potter story goes viral after her death
An amusing Dame Maggie Smith anecdote about Harry Potter and Downton Abbey fans recognising her in public has resurfaced following her death, aged 89.
Smith who played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter series, told Norton in 2015 that she used to get noticed by a lot of “small people who said hello, which was nice”.
“A whole different lot of people know me because of it. It was like I’d never existed before,” she added. “One child asked me, ‘Were you really once a cat?’ and I heard myself say, ‘Pull yourself together, how could I have been!’”
Read more:
‘It’s only since Downton that people seem to recognise me,’ the star once admitted
Maggie Smith shared brilliantly blunt reason she never watched Downton Abbey before her death
Dame Maggie Smith was often open about having never seen her performance as the Dowager Countess of Grantham in ITV’s hit period drama, Downton Abbey.
So open, in fact, that she once shared a hilariously blunt reason as to why she had never watched the series.
Read more:
Icon of British film and television famously admitted to having never seen the ITV period drama
Dame Maggie's most memorable scenes from acting career spanning 70 years
Whoopi Goldberg pays tribute to “one-of-a-kind” Maggie Smith
American actress Whoopi Goldberg has said she felt “lucky” to have worked with Maggie Smith in a tribute on social media.
Goldberg and Dame Maggie starred together in Sister Act, in which the former played Deloris Can Cartier and the latter played Reverend Mother Superior.
Sharing a picture of the two on the set of Sister Act on Instagram, Goldberg described her as “one-of-a-kind”.
She wrote in her post: “Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. 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.”
Sir Ian McKellen imitates perfectly Maggie Smith on the Graham Norton Show
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