The world remembers seeing Daniel Radcliffe and Dame Maggie Smith sharing the big screen in the Harry Potter movies. Their chemistry as a young boy wizard and his stern yet endearing professor were off the charts during their scenes at Hogwarts. After the passing of the film legend at the age of 89, Radcliffe tells the sweet story of how he introduced himself when they met on the set of Harry Potter and I gush just hearing it.
The first time Daniel Radcliffe and Dame Maggie Smith met was on the set of the BBC miniseries David Copperfield when he was a young kid. You can imagine what a wonder it must have been to reunite with the famed actress in the Harry Potter movies as Harry and Professor McGonagall which would be the start of a 10-year partnership. Radcliffe spoke on The Radio Times about reuniting with Dame Smith for the first time on the magical set and the story is just so incredibly sweet:
Maggie Smith I walked up to on David Copperfield because I heard she was Dame Maggie Smith and I had a loose knowledge of what that meant. But, I walked up to her the first day and I was like, ‘Would you like me to call you Dame?’ Which is why I think I endeared myself to her as a eight-year-old or whatever I was because I think it just made her laugh.
I feel like I would ask the same thing as a young kid to a prolific actress like Dame Maggie Smith. Daniel Radcliffe also admitted that being so young when they met, he didn’t know about Smith’s best movies or the film background of any of the adult actors he worked with on the Harry Potter films as he does now. It’s okay as not all child actors are expected to know the filmography of every actor or actress they work with. They’re lucky enough to have gotten to work with such accomplished stars to begin with.
Dame Maggie Smith will surely be missed among her Harry Potter chums. Daniel Radcliffe’s heartwarming tribute to her in a statement from Variety had him retell the story of when they first met on David Copperfield and feeling “lucky” to have gotten to work with her for a decade on the fantasy franchise. In fact, you can actually thank the Academy Award winner for helping Radcliffe land the role of Harry Potter due to their previous work together. I’m sure he’ll never forget Dame Smith’s contribution to earning his life-changing role.
Other Harry Potter cast members sent sweet tributes to the Downton Abbey actress like Emma Watson who described her as “the true definition of greatness” and Rupert Grint said he was grateful he got to share a dance with her in The Goblet of Fire. Tom Felton also chimed in thanking the Tony winner for looking after the young cast since day one and for “not getting me kicked off the set” for constant giggling during transfiguration class scenes with her. As each young Harry Potter cast member got their big start on the set of the book-adaptation film series, they must feel hugely lucky to have worked with big stars like Dame Maggie Smith. You can watch Daniel Radcliffe’s interview about the late actress below:
Daniel Radcliffe must have felt like he was in the presence of royalty getting to work with Dame Maggie Smith again on Harry Potter and not knowing how to refer to her. It’s a cute start to a decade-long partnership the two experienced playing Harry and Professor McGonagall. You can revisit the two stars’ time at Hogwarts with the Harry Potter film series available on your Max subscription and your Peacock subscription.