Daniel Radcliffe Expresses Grief Over Harry Potter Co-star Maggie Smith’s Death
- Daniel Radcliffe remembered meeting Maggie Smith.
- He shared that his parents were awestruck by their collaboration.
- Maggie portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in Harry Potter.
Daniel Radcliffe, 35, remembered with nostalgia the first time he saw Dame Maggie Smith, his co-star in David Copperfield, when he was just nine years old.
Speaking to Page Six, he shared, “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.” Although his parents were “awestruck” that he would collaborate with Smith on his debut film, Radcliffe acknowledged that at that young age he was unaware of her illustrious career.
Radcliffe humorously remembered asking her, “Would you like me to call you Dame?” to which she laughed and responded, “don’t be ridiculous.” He expressed his appreciation for having worked with her, stating, “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.”
Family members of Dame Maggie Smith, who portrayed Professor Minerva McGonagall in all eight of the Harry Potter films, have confirmed that she died peacefully in a hospital. Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, stated, “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” expressing their devastation at the loss of their “extraordinary mother and grandmother.”