Dame Maggie Smith, who played Professor McGonagall in the
Harry Potter film series, admittedly recently that working with former costar Sir Michael Gambon (Dumbledore) was a bit 'hair-raising' as he kept forgetting his lines for the movies.
Gambon confessed earlier this year that he would retire from stagework as he was no longer able to remember his lines - something for which Smith was grateful. Gambon will continue to do film and television work.
Quote:
"It was about time [Michael Gambon] admitted it, because it was hair-raising doing things with him,” Dame Maggie told The Sunday Times. “Mind you, I defy anyone to learn Harry Potter-speak. It'd probably be easier for him to learn Shakespeare."
Dame Maggie said she will continue working for as long as she is able. "When you're not working it's scary, and when you are working it's scary, because you don't know if you've got the energy to get through the day,” she said.
"But the bleakness of not doing it, and missing out on the friendships that you make, is too much to bear."
For those
Downton Abbey fans out there, Smith stated that the upcoming series, set to air this fall in the UK, will be her last.
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"They say this is the last one, and I can't see how it could go on," Smith has told the Sunday Times, alluding to recent speculation that the hit ITV drama will come to an end after the sixth series.
"I mean, I certainly can't keep going," she continues. "To my knowledge, I must be 110 by now. We're into the late 1920s."
Up next for Smith is the theatrical release of
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, out this Friday. The trailer can be viewed below.