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‘Downton Abbey’ Cast, Creators Pay Tribute to Maggie Smith: “One of the Greatest Actors of Our Time”

‘Downton Abbey’ Cast, Creators Pay Tribute to Maggie Smith: “One of the Greatest Actors of Our Time”

Entertainment

‘Downton Abbey’ Cast, Creators Pay Tribute to Maggie Smith: “One of the Greatest Actors of Our Time”


Maggie Smith‘s Downton Abbey family and other figures in Hollywood are paying tribute to the late, Oscar-winning actress who died on Friday.

She was also known for her iconic role as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter film franchise, as well as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and more.

A statement from her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin to the BBC said on Friday: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. 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. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that “Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career. She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking. Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”

“Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent,” star Hugh Bonneville shared in a statement with THR. “She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Michelle Dockery, who also starred in the British TV show and films, shared in her statement, “There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”

Downton producer Gareth Neame paid tribute to the Oscar-winning actress with a lengthy statement: “Maggie Smith was one of the greatest actors of our time and a much-loved member of the Downton family. In Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Maggie created one of the finest screen performances we have seen across six seasons of the television series and two movies, spanning twelve years. The entire cast and crew of Downton Abbey considered it an enormous honor to work with her, she was an actress of such stature whose incredible talent could encompass high comedy and full-blown tragedy. Off-screen she was particularly close to the cast who played the other members of her family and was very generous and full of encouragement for the younger actors. It is personally poignant that my late grandfather directed one of her finest performances in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie for which she won her first Academy Award. Jean Brodie and Violet Grantham are but two creations in an extraordinary career spanning decades and delighting audiences across the globe. There is only one Maggie Smith and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with her family.”

Below, read more tributes to one of the most formidable British actors of all time.





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