Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe agonises over the sad demise of his co-star, Dame Maggie Smith. The two starred in the Harry Potter series, where Radcliffe started his acting career. Smith passed away on Friday at the age of 89 due to her long-running health issues.

Radcliffe mourns Smith’s passing away

The 35-year-old actor reminisced about the first time he got to know about the first time he got to know that Smith was going to be his co-star. Radcliffe told Page Six in a statement, “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,” on Friday. He admitted that he was not aware of his co-star or her work at the time. However, Radcliffe’s parents were “awestruck” that he would like to work with her on his debut film.

He recalled, “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?’ to which she replied with a laugh and said something similar on the lines of ‘don’t be ridiculous.’"

The Woman in Black actor remembered that he was “nervous” to meet Smith only to be put “at ease” by her immediately with her words and presence. He revealed to the media outlet, “She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the ‘Harry Potter’ films.”

He described the Downtown Abbey star as a woman of “fierce intellect” with a “gloriously sharp tongue.” Radcliffe added, “[Maggie] could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.”

Radcliffe expressed his gratitude for the late actor as he said, “I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.”

Harry Potter’s beloved Professor Minerva McGonagall

The late actor was part of all eight parts of Harry Potter based on author J.K. Rowling's fictional novels of the same name and played the character of Professor Minerva McGonagall. Her family confirmed that she passed away “peacefully in hospital,” but the cause of her death was not revealed.

Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, whom she shared with her ex-husband, Robert Stephens, released a statement that read, “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith. An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.” They added that Smith’s sons and five grandchildren are “devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

She was renowned for her role in Downtown Abbey, which earned her three Emmy Awards. She also won two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes, and one Tony Award. In 1990, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Smith a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

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