Although actor Alan Rickman had an intimidating vibe when he played Professor Severus Snape, he was not actually the most intimidating person on the set. Actress Maggie Smith, who played Professor McGonagall in all 8 parts of the Harry Potter movies, was the scariest person on the set.
When Smith was on the sets, things got extremely serious. Her colleagues confirmed that she maintained an intimidating persona on the set, in fact, she terrorized the director as well. The director of the first two Harry Potter films, Chris Columbus, avoided going to Smith’s trailer to call her for her scenes.
Harry Potter director Chris Columbus was scared of Maggie Smith
Actress Maggie Smith is well-known for her work as Professor McGonagall in all 8 parts of the Harry Potter movies. However, among her colleagues, she is well-known for something else. Her costar Miriam Margolyes, who played Professor Sprout, once revealed,
“Not that I’m rubbishing Maggie Smith, because she’s a great lady – I’m scared of her, actually. She’s quite something, yes. But she is a great ornament to our profession. We’re very lucky to have her around.”
As per her colleagues, the actress is very scary on the sets. She was so intimidating that the director of the first two Harry Potter films, Chris Columbus, sent young Danielle Radcliffe to her trailer in order to call her for her scenes.
Maggie Smith is only scary when you irritate her
In another interview, Miriam Margolyes explained that Smith is actually a very sweet person as long as someone doesn’t irritate her,
“She is a little bit alarming… You have to be watchful with Maggie because if she’s cross, she doesn’t mind sharing it. She’s actually a very sweet lady, and if you don’t irritate her, she’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Chris Columbus reportedly stopped directing the Harry Potter movies because of over-exhaustion. The schedule was extremely packed and the director wished to spend more time with his family, so he decided to pass on the opportunity to Alfonso Cuarón.
This is what Maggie Smith hated about her character
Maggie Smith’s costume in the movie is said to have mirrored her character’s Scottish heritage. The actress once explained that she hated this one thing about her costume,
“I used to find the most exhausting thing was wearing those hats. They’re the heaviest things in the world. I had a hat, it was like the Albert Hall, it was huge and so heavy. Sometimes [film sets] can just be torment and then you think: what on earth am I doing here? You’re always in some godforsaken location. You just think: oh please, let me out of here!”
Smith added that even Margoyles hated the heavy hat and struggled with it on the sets of the movie. Without a doubt, the role of Professor McGonagall massively contributed to Maggie Smith’s success.
Related: 8 Mind-Blowing Facts About Maggie Smith, Ranked
Source: Evening Standard
