Emma Watson broke her silence over her Harry Potter co-star Dame Maggie Smith‘s death at age 89 on Friday – and shared a moving tribute to her Instagram stories.
It was revealed that the Downtown Abbey actress passed away inside a hospital on Friday morning – and prompted a flood of tributes as celebrities and fans mourned the heartbreaking loss.
Watson, 34, uploaded a behind-the-scenes photo of herself and Smith as they seemingly filmed a scene from Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Emma held a small smile on her face as Maggie gently placed her hand on the side of the actress’s face in a sweet gesture.
‘When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie’s legend – the woman I was fortunate enough to share space with.
‘It is only as I’ve become an adult that I’ve come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness.’
Watson continued, ‘She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own.’
‘Thank you for all of your kindness. I’ll miss you,’ Emma concluded to her fans and followers.
The pair starred together in the Harry Potter franchise from 2001 until the last film premiered 10 years later in 2011.
Emma portrayed the role of Hermione Granger while Maggie took on the character of Professor Minerva McGonagall.
During a past interview on The Late Show With David Letterman, the star opened up about advice Smith had given her at the start of her own acting career, per Elle.
Watson revealed that she would get ‘nervous’ seeing herself on the screen, especially with the ‘early Harry Potter films.’
‘I would get very nervous, and twist myself up in my seat like a pretzel and bite my nails, and everything.’
‘Then – I’m pretty sure Maggie Smith said this to me, it was 10 years ago, so sometimes I struggle remembering…’
‘But she basically said, “How do you expect to get better if you don’t watch your performances?” and I said “Well, that’s a good point.”‘
Emma continued, ‘Yeah, she basically just told me to get a grip, and since then I’ve watched my performances.’
After the news of Smith’s passing on Friday, other Harry Potter stars paid tributes to the award-winning actress.
Daniel Radcliffe – who portrayed Harry Potter throughout the eight films – mourned the loss of a ‘legend.’
Radcliffe first worked with Dame Maggie in 1999 when he was just nine-years-old on TV mini-series David Copperfield.
He also starred alongside four more of his future Harry Potter co-stars, including Zoe Wanamaker, Imelda Staunton, Dawn French and Paul Whitehouse.
Paying tribute to her on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Radcliffe said: ‘The first time I met Maggie Smith I was nine years old and we were reading through scenes for David Copperfield, which was my first job.’
He added, ‘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!”‘
‘I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me immediately at ease. 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 spoke of her ‘fierce intellect’ and ‘gloriously sharp tongue’ and said she ‘could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny.’
Radcliffe added, ‘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.’
It comes after Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, updated his Instagram profile picture to a sweet throwback of Maggie and himself to pay tribute to her.
Along with the Harry Potter franchise, Dame Maggie Smith took on various other roles in projects during her long-lasting career.
She also portrayed the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the series, Downtown Abbey and appeared in the 1985 film, A Room With A View, alongside Helena Bonham Carter – who also starred in Harry Potter.
Other celebrities mourned the loss of Smith on Friday, such as Downtown Abbey star Hugh Bonneville and Sandra Bullock.
J.K. Rowling also shared a message on X that read, ‘Somehow I thought she’d live forever. RIP Dame Maggie Smith.’
Maggie’s sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, announced the passing of their mother in a statement on Friday.
‘She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September. 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.’
‘We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days.’
Chris and Toby concluded with, ‘We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.’
