WhyHarry Potter's Director Once Said Maggie Smith Was Perfect for Her Role: Both 'Intimidating' and Full of 'Heart'

Mar. 15, 2025

The late Dame Maggie Smithhad a miles-long film, theater and television résumé. But a whole generation of fans knows her specifically for her role as the tough but fair Professor Minerva McGonagall of theHarry Potteruniverse.

One particular encounter with a young fan stood out to the star, who was 78 at the time of the interview.

“I was in Waitrose [supermarket], and a little boy was at the checkout with his mother and he kept looking at me,” she recalled. “And I thought, ‘What am I going to do about it?’ And I said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said, ‘It’s all right, it will come to me in a minute.’ I thought that was so sweet.”

Maggie Smith in ‘Harry Potter’.Warner Bros. Pictures

That mix of sweetness and stature was exactly what drew director Chris Columbus to Smith when he was casting the firstHarry Potterfilm.

In an early 2000s clip posted to YouTube, Columbus — who directed the first twoHarry Pottermovies — reflected on “what we needed” from McGonagall.

Maggie Smith in ‘Harry Potter’.Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

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Columbus recounted one of the character’s first scenes as being particularly impactful.

“You meet her in the beginning of the film, she’s in the scene where they’re walking up the stairs, and she was intimidating,” he said. “I mean, she was intimidating to the crew because she’s so smart, she’s so brilliant.”

And the young stars of the cast, includingDaniel Radcliffe,Emma WatsonandRupert Grint, “could sense that,” he added. “But that was good. At that point she was the disciplinarian.”

source: people.com