Daniel Radcliffe is among those mourning the death of beloved British actress Maggie Smith, who died Friday at age 89.
Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the Harry Potter movie series, shared a statement reflecting on meeting Smith when he was a young actor.
“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 began. “I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her.”
He added in part, “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.”
He called himself “amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her,” adding, “The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”
Whoopi Goldberg, who starred with Smith in 1992’s Sister Act and 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, posted on Instagram, “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.'”
Smith’s Downton Abbey co-star Michelle Dockery said in a statement, “I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”
The loss of Smith even led a “deeply saddened” King Charles III to share a statement on behalf of himself and his wife, Camilla, on Friday: “As the curtain comes down on a national treasure, we join all those around the world in remembering with the fondest admiration and affection her many great performances, and her warmth and wit that shone through both on and off the stage.”
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