Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery were brilliant in Downton Abbey. Their characters always seemed two to three steps ahead of everyone with their wit. And were hilarious to boot.
Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through their understanding of how the social contracts really worked. And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the future of the estate to Mary.
In Downton Abbey, Maggie Smith is playing a toned-down version of the character she played in Gosford Park.
One of my favourite movies. As an ensemble movie it get’s better with multiple viewings.
Written by the same person, so kind of expected.
Well maybe I'll have to watch that now.
Gosford Park? Omg, that's the only one worth watching! It has a plot. I period drama but couldn't get past two episodes of Downton Abbey. Too sugary and boring.
If you haven't already make sure you watch Brideshead revisited.
You have Phoebe Nicholls (who played Lady Rose's mother) and Diana Quick (Polina Molotova in The Death of Stalin and the Queen in the eponymous BBC series) doing some similar social machinations in the background of an absolutely stacked period-drama with a cast including Jeremy Irons, Laurence Olivier, and John Gielgud.
W… what is a weekend?
A towering presence of British stage and screen, with Dame Judi Dench being about the last of that golden generation since the passing of Diana Riggs (Olenna Tyrell).
Time for a rewatch of Gosford Park while archly sipping gin out of a china teacup with a raised pinkie.
I didn't know Diana Riggs died :( She really brought the Queen of Thorns to life.
One of her last pieces of work was in the excellent BBC series The Detectorists, where she played a character who was mother to her real-life daughter
Oh I love that series!
Yeah she was a big loss, a 60s bond girl and all-round sex symbol who went on to completely transcend that label and developed into a serious thespian and RSC/Old Vic stalwart. She absolutely holds her own as the Wife of Olivier's Lear.
I'm delighted she got to work with Edgar Wright before her death and put in a great turn in Last Night in Soho; I'd a big fear she'd peter out with a few Dr.Who episodes in a fairly unceremonious end to a glittering and exremely accomplished career.
One of her last roles was in the fantastic BBC comedy "Detectorists" where she played the mother of Rachael Stirling, her daughter in real life.
There was definitely a big hole when series 2 came out without her.
I saw a black cat this morning I'm pretty sure was her.
<3
She was an absolutely wonderful actress. The Washington Post also has an article announcing her death [0]. It goes into a lot of depth about her work and who she was.
[0]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/09/27/maggie-...
For her passing to make the front page of HN when she has no presence in the tech world really speaks to her impact. I imagine very few people would reach that level. Wonderful actress, she was the best character in Downton.
This is a really good point. Unless there is some tech angle these things don't usually make HN.
I wonder how much of it has to do with the overlap between tech nerds and Harry Potter nerds.
Don’t forget The First Wives Club! RIP
Sorry to see this, she's been an absolute legend over the years. She was always great even when I didn't think I would love the show or movie.
Truly one of the greatest actors of all time. For those of you that haven't seen this, I strongly recommend watching this show. Just a group of ladies having tea and a chat. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7363336/
I don't think you can understand the 1960s without seeing her glorious movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
It captures the tension of social norms and rebellion and, if one pays attention, the natural consequences of unbridled enthusiasm.
Showing my age a bit here, but when I think of her this film is always what I'm reminded of. That phrase "I am Miss Jean Brodie... and I am in my prime" in her frightfully posh Scottish accent rattles around my head quite a bit for some reason.
I've always thought of her as being well-known, but apparently it was Downton Abbey that really made her properly famous, which she didn't really like: https://x.com/lewispringle/status/1839680373774581849
But the book and movie are set in the 1930s, though I guess 1930s through a 1960s sensibility.
I think her character Prof. McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies drew heavily on her much earlier role as that other Scottish school teacher, Jean Brodie.
Lovely, thank you for sharing!
> I don't think you can understand the 1960s
I think the same of "The Graduate (1967)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKafIqhEvk
Note - this is not a movie she is in.
She was excellent at whatever she was in. An absolute icon of cinema. RIP Maggie Smith.
The only person in history to win an Oscar while portraying an Oscar nominee. <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/...>
If you haven't seen it already, check out "Tea with the Dames". It's great, and I'd assume one of the last things Dame Maggie Smith was in.
Rest in peace to one of the true greats.
My favorite line from Downtown Abby: "What's a week end?"
I'll never forget her in the Hook VHS I had growing up. RIP
Peace to a good one.
The Lady in the Van cuts a lot of onion for me. RIP.
I was fortunate enough to see her in that on stage. She and Nick Farrell were on top form. It's a highlight.
I shed real tears when I saw that she had passed. The other week, with James Earl Jones, as well. We're losing a generation of actors with real, deep roots in theatre, who then adapted to TV and cinema as those media matured. They're a bridge generation, and their experience will not be replicated. The profession and the culture are the poorer for their loss.
I will add "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" to another good movie she was in, along with an excellent cast.
Excellent on stage in A German Life, even when the writing wasn't up to her acting. And the Lady In The Van!
RIP Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith's character in both Abbey and HP brooked no BS. We're reaching the time now when more of the Harry Potter teachers are leaving this world, I am not looking forward to the students.
This is a striking and sobering comment, sauceymew.
We’ll be lucky to live that long, and sorry to see them fall.
(Edit: s/fail/fall)
Big boots to fill if they go ahead with the Harry Potter TV series.
One of the best artists of stage and cinema. Will miss her.
What a life well lived. 89 is a great age