has broken his silence following . The pair first became acquainted in 1999 upon starring in the two-part drama, David Copperfield.
35-year-old Daniel, who is best known for portraying the titular character of the movies, claimed he knew “virtually” nothing about Maggie when he was cast in David Copperfield. At the time, the father-of-one portrayed a younger version of Charles Dickens’ titular character while she starred as Betsey Trotwood.
Following their initial introduction, the pair later worked opposite each other on seven of the eight Harry Potter movies – Daniel as the titular character again and Maggie as the stern Transfiguration teacher Professor Minerva McGonagall. Following the star’s death on Friday (September 27), aged 89, Daniel has paid tribute to the actress.
In his missive, he recounted the first time he met her on the set of David Copperfield. “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!”.
Daniel Radcliffe (left) starred alongside Maggie Smith (right) in BBC’s David Copperfield (Image: BBC)
He continued to tell that he was “nervous to meet her” but he remembered her being “incredibly kind”.
“Then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.”
Daniel went on to say Maggie “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.”
Concluding his statement, the father-of-one claimed he considered himself “amazingly lucky” to have been paired with her on-screen for so many years.
“The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you, Maggie.”
Don’t miss… [TRIBUTE]
Daniel and Maggie starred in seven of the eight Harry Potter movies together (Image: Warner Bros/AP)
’s death was announced by her surviving sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens. In a statement shared via a publicist, they described their late mother as an “intensely private person”.
“She was with friends and family at the end,” they continued. “She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”
The pair, whom she shares with her first husband, the late actor Robert Stephens, went on to thank the staff at the Chelsea and Westminister Hospital .
As well as appearing in the Harry Potter franchise, Maggie was known for her role as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham on
She portrayed the matriarch of the Crawley family for six seasons and appeared in the subsequent spin-off movies that both premiered on the silver screen.