Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith
Daniel Radcliffe is mourning the loss of Harry Potter costar Dame Maggie Smith, who died at age 89 on Friday, September 27.
While audiences remember Radcliffe, now 35, as The Boy Who Lived and Smith as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the eight-film series, the actor reminded fans that he actually met Smith on the set of the 1999 BBC miniseries David Copperfield.
“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,” Radcliffe said in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday. “I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her. 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!’”
Radcliffe continued: “I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me 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. 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.”
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The Tony Award winner played Harry Potter in all eight films from 2001 to 2011 opposite Smith, and he has said that the Downton Abbey actress was the reason he scored the iconic role.
Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith
“Maggie was the person that, like, recommended me for Potter, so she’s the reason I ended up doing that,” he said during a 2021 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. “I met her when I was 9 for the first time. I didn’t know who she was. My parents were like, ‘Oh, my God, you’re working with Maggie Smith, that’s huge.’ But I was not like a Prime of Miss Jean Brodie fan, so I didn’t know who that was!”
Other Hogwarts alums shared tributes to Smith amid the news of her passing. Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley in all eight films, shared a statement via Instagram on Friday.
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“Our dearly loved and revered head of Gryffindor house ,” Wright, 33, captioned a photo of Smith. “You will be so missed by the Harry Potter community. My favorite scene with Maggie was when we were all learning to dance for the Yule Ball. She embodied that perfect balance of sass and loving care that McGonagall has. She kept Gryffindors on their toes. My deepest condolences to Maggie’s family at this time.”
