‘Downton Abbey’ Cast & Creatives Pay Tribute To Maggie Smith; Julian Fellowes, Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville
deadline.comMaggie Smith, who died Friday at the age of 89, earned three Primetime Emmy awards for her role as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in all six seasons of the British period drama Downton Abbey.
She also reprised her role in the two Downton Abbey films: her character died in 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era. Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes is among those paying tribute to Smith, releaeing the following statement: “Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career.
She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking. Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.” Gareth Neame of Carnival Films, Executive Producer of Downton Abbey series and Producer, Downton Abbey films, shared a statement on his working relationship with Smith and his personal connection to the actor. “Maggie Smith was one of the greatest actors of our time and a much-loved member of the Downton family,” Neame wrote. “In Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Maggie created one of the finest screen performances we have seen across six seasons of the television series and two movies, spanning twelve years.
The entire cast and crew of Downton Abbey considered it an enormous honor to work with her, she was an actress of such stature whose incredible talent could encompass high comedy and full-blown tragedy.
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