Daniel Radcliffe remembers Maggie Smith as a legend with a fierce intellect

Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to him today Harry Potter Co-star Maggie Smith, who died this morning aged 89.

The two actors actually met on a job before the Potter franchise, when both were cast in a 1999 BBC adaptation of David Copperfield. Radcliffe played the young Copperfield and Smith played his great-aunt Betsey Trotwood.

“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 press statement today. “I knew virtually nothing about her, except that my parents were impressed by the fact that I would be working with her.

“The other thing I knew about her was that she was a lady,” he continued, “so the first thing I asked her when we met was, ‘Would you like me to call you a lady?’ to which she laughed and said something to the effect of, “Don’t be ridiculous!” I remember being nervous about meeting her and then immediately reassuring me. She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot and then I was lucky enough to work with her on the Harry Potter films for another 10 years. She had a fierce intellect, a wonderfully sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm at the same time and, as anyone will tell you, was extremely funny. I will always consider myself very lucky to have been able to work with her and spend time with her on set. The word “legend” gets thrown around a lot, but if it applies to someone in our industry, then it applies to them too. “Thank you, Maggie.”