Dame Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith on playing Shakespeare, doing films and more recently television (Downton Abbey)

Read the interview with The Star (September 2012)

What she says about playing in a TV series:

“You know, I think Downton is the reason that everybody thinks I’m suddenly so popular, because I’ve never really done a television series before. 

“People think of you differently if you’ve been in their homes. They think they own you because they watched you while they were eating dinner, or they can turn you up or down, or even freeze you.” 

“I got in a taxi the other day. The driver recognized me from Downton and asked me when the next season started. Before I could tell him, he said, ‘I always watch it when the football isn’t on,’ and that sure put me in my place.” 

Her roles : link