Queen Dame Maggie Smith on King Alan Rickman: ''It was a joy to be with him''
DAVIES: Do you want to take one question about Harry Potter, or would you rather be released?
SMITH: I would - I would rather be released. I think you've been adorable, though.
DAVIES: OK, I don't know about that (laughter).
SMITH: What do you want to [know] about Harry Potter?
DAVIES: Just what was it like to play that role, to act in those films?
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SMITH: Well, I'll tell you I just did adore Daniel - Daniel Radcliffe, who I had worked with before Harry Potter and spent a long time telling all the producers they had to see him because I thought he was so terrific. And it's been sad thinking about it because of Alan Rickman...
DAVIES: Oh, who died recently, yeah.
SMITH: ...Who - yes, he was such a terrific actor, and that was such a terrific character that he played. And it was a joy to be with him. We used to laugh together because we ran out of reaction shots. They were always - when everything had been done and the children were finished, they would turn the camera around and we'd have to do various reaction shots of amazement or sadness and things. And we used to say we'd got to about number 200-and-something and we'd run out of knowing what to do when the camera came around on us. But he was a joy.
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Plus, [Alice Through the Looking Glass]'s director, James Bobin has said for Total Film magazine's Fantasy Issue:
© 2010 Michael Kutsche
''It's a terrible honour to have. Obviously he's exceptional; an incredible voice. As a performer, that's such a rare thing to have - the moment you open your mouth, to know exactly who that is. But he has that. It lends us gravity. Absolem [aka the Blue Caterpillar] is the wise, mysterious, oblique person that he is in the books. From the first movie, Alan absolutely nailed it. And he really guides you into our movie. It starts with him, and he takes Alice back.''
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