The King and the Prime Minister pay tribute to the “national treasure”

Dame Maggie Smith, best known for the Harry Potter and Downton Abbey films, has been remembered as a ‘true legend’ in acting after her death aged 89.

The King and Prime Minister were honored, as well as many co-stars in its long career.

King Charles described her as a “national treasure”, while Sir Keir Starmer said she was “loved by so many for her great talent”.

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe fondly remembered her “fierce mind” and “wonderfully sharp tongue.”

Miriam Margolyes said she was “the best ever” who combined “ferocity with a spark of mischief, joy and tenderness.”

“And tremendous courage,” Margolis told BBC News. “I admired her, as did all her colleagues.”

“I’ve seen what a nice person she can be – as well as being absolutely terrifying.”

Dame Magee was known for her sharp tongue on and off screen during a diverse and acclaimed career spanning eight decades.

In the Harry Potter films, she played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch’s hat and strict manner with the younger wizards at Hogwarts.

“She had a fierce wit, a very sharp tongue, she could intimidate and charm at the same time, and she was, as everyone will tell you, very funny,” Radcliffe said in his tribute.

“I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her and spend time around her on set.

“The word legend has been overused, but if it applies to anyone in our industry, it applies to them. Thank you, Maggie.”

In the hit ITV drama Downton Abbey, she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, a grand matriarch who excelled at delivering one-liners throughout the show’s six series.

Elsewhere in her career, She won two Oscars – for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in 1970 and California Suite in 1979.

It received four further nominations, and won seven BAFTA Awards.

“As the curtain falls on a national treasure, we join everyone around the world in remembering with admiration and affection her many wonderful performances, and the warmth and intelligence through which they shone,” the King and Queen said in a statement. Off and on stage.”

The Prime Minister agreed that Lady Magee was “a true national treasure that will be cherished for generations to come”.

Sir Keir said she “brought us new worlds through the countless stories she represented over her long career.”

Hugh Bonneville, who played the Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, said: “Anyone who has shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her keen eye, keen wit and immense talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and fortunately she will live on in many wonderful performances on screen.”

Lady Maggie reprized her role in both Downton Abbey films. In 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Age, her character dies from an illness revealed at the end of the 2019 film.

Co-star Dame Harriet Walter told BBC Radio 4’s PM program that she excelled in comedy as well as drama.

“She was a real comedic actress, but I also saw her play some incredibly sad, deep, honest roles, which is a huge range for an actress like her,” she said.

“If it had been just funny or just tragic, it wouldn’t have left that kind of impression.”

Michelle Dockery, who played Lady Mary Crawley, Lady Maggie’s on-screen granddaughter, told the BBC: “There was no one quite like Maggie.

“I feel very lucky to have known such a maverick. I will miss her terribly and my thoughts are with her family.”

Lesley Nicholl, who played Mrs Patmore, the cook in Downton Abbey, told BBC Radio Ulster: “It’s a very close group of people, so we’re all devastated to think they’re no longer there.”

Author and writer of Downton Abbey Julian Fellowes told Variety She was “a joy to write for, tender, layered, intelligent, funny and heartbreaking.”

Downton follows the success of the 2002 historical drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame Maggie Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her role as the Dowager Countess of Trentham.

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, who starred alongside Lady Maggie in Gosford Park, said she “took acting seriously but saw this as bullshit and sensationalism”.

“She really doesn’t want to deal with that,” Ms. Christine added.

“She had a sense of humor and wit that could turn me into a puddle of caustic laughter. She had no patience with fools. So you had to be a little careful. I absolutely adored her.”

“The last time I saw her, she was so angry about being so old. I think she said, ‘Crazy,’ I loved her so much, she was so admired, she couldn’t be replaced.”

A National Theater spokesperson also praised her career as “spanning the worlds of theatre, film and television without equal”.

“She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors this country has ever had the priceless pleasure of watching,” the statement continued, praising her theatrical performance.

BAFTA added that she was a “legend of British stage and screen”.

Announcing the news of her death “with great sadness” on Friday, her sons Toby Stevens and Chris Larkin said that she “passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning.”

They said: “She was a very private person and was with friends and family at last. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

They thanked the “wonderful staff at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their continued care and kindness during her final days.”

They added: “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Ms. Magee began her career in the 1950s She was nominated for her first Oscar for her role as Desdemona opposite Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare’s Othello in 1965.

Another of the actress’s memorable roles included Merchant Ivory’s 1985 film A Room With a View, which earned her another Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA Award.

She appeared as an Englishwoman living in 1930s Italy in the 1999 film Tea with Mussolini; She was the firm but fair priest mother in my film Sister Act.

Sister Act co-star Whoopi Goldberg described Dame Maggie as “a great woman and a wonderful actress”, adding: “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with ‘One of a Kind’.”

Rob Lowe, who starred as Mrs Maggie in 1993’s Suddenly Last Summer, recalled the “unforgettable experience of working with her”.

“Participating in two shots was like pairing up with a lion,” he said.

“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But she was a great, funny company. She took no fools.”

“We’ll never see another. God bless you, Mrs. Smith!”

The veteran actress also played an old woman who spent 15 years living in a van outside Alan Bennett’s house in the 2015 film adaptation of the author’s novel The Lady in the Van.

Alex Jennings, who played Bennett, told Radio 4 she was “brave” and praised her “fantastic artistic abilities as an actress”.