In a statement to The Post, Radcliffe, 35, said, “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. I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her.”
The “Harry Potter” star recalled, “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!’”
Daniel Radcliffe with Maggie Smith and her granddaughter in 2005. Scott Myers/Shutterstock
Radcliffe felt nervous to meet her, but the British icon put him “immediately at ease.”
“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.”
“She was a fierce intellect, a gloriously sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny,” the Tony winner continued. “I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set.”
“When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend – the woman I was fortunate enough to share space with. It is only as I’ve become an adult that I’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness,” the actress wrote on her Instagram Story. “She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own. Thank you for all of your kindess. I’ll miss you.”
“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end,” they said in a statement.
The continued, “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother … We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”
Radcliffe starred with Smith in all eight “Harry Potter” movies, which came out between 2001 and 2011. The “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” actor was just 11 years old during the first movie, and 20 years old by the time the epic fantasy saga wrapped. He starred alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
Aside from “Harry Potter,” Smith was known for her Emmy-winning role in “Downton Abbey” and for a slew of roles on the stage and screen, including “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” for which she won an Oscar in 1970, and the 1990 Broadway play “Lettice and Lovage,” for which she won a Tony.
Radcliffe concluded his statement by saying, “The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”
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