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Dame Maggie Smith, renowned for her roles in Harry Potter and Downton Abbey, recently passed away at 89, leaving behind a remarkable legacy in film and theatre. Despite her iconic performances, Smith revealed that working on Harry Potter and Downton Abbey was not personally fulfilling. “I didn’t really feel I was acting in those things,” she said in a 2019 interview with the Evening Standard. She and her late co-star Alan Rickman often shared frustrations over their roles in Harry Potter, saying much of their work consisted of “reaction shots.”
Read More: Dame Maggie Smith’s Final Curtain: Net Worth, Family And Everything Else You Need To Know About Her
Smith, who began her career in theatre, always considered the stage her true passion. She stated that while she was grateful for the work in films, it wasn’t as creatively satisfying. Her love for live performances was a recurring theme throughout her career. “Theatre is basically my favourite medium, and I think I felt as though I’d left it all unfinished,” she explained in the same interview.
In 2019, her return to the stage after a 12-year hiatus in Christopher Hampton’s A German Life demonstrated her deep connection to theatre. Smith performed a one-woman show in the play that earned her rave reviews and reinforced her desire to be on stage. Reflecting on the experience, she said, “I wanted to return to the stage so much.”
Following her death, tributes poured in from co-stars and public figures, underscoring the depth of her impact on the industry. King Charles III described her as a “national treasure,” and her Harry Potter co-star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue” in a statement shared by BBC News. Miriam Margolyes, another Harry Potter colleague, hailed Smith as “the best of the best” and admired her “ferocity, a glint of mischief, delight, and tenderness.”
Smith’s career spanned over seven decades, with notable roles in films like The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which earned her an Academy Award, and California Suite, for which she won her second Oscar. However, she is best remembered as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series and Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, in Downton Abbey.
