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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →After Maggie Smith died on September 27, 2024, aged 89, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and co-star Hugh Bonneville paid tribute to her. Executive producer Gareth Neame later recalled how Smith made Violet Crawley her own across six seasons and two films.
What Julian Fellowes said about Maggie Smith
Fellowes, the creator, writer and producer of Downton Abbey, remembered Smith as both an exceptional actor and an unusually rewarding performer to write for. In a statement reported by the Associated Press on September 27, 2024, he said:
“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.”
His tribute connects the precision and range of Smith’s acting with the experience of creating Violet’s lines for her.
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- Runtime: 371 minutes
Hugh Bonneville remembers a scene partner
Bonneville, Smith’s co-star, focused on what it was like to share a scene with her. He praised her attention, wit and talent, and sent condolences to her family:
“Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent. She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”
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- Soundtrack: English
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The Associated Press reported Bonneville’s statement alongside Fellowes’s on the day of Smith’s death.
How Maggie Smith became Violet Crawley
In a Guardian account published September 28, 2024, executive producer Gareth Neame recalled that Violet Grantham—the character known as the Dowager Countess—had not originally been designed for Smith. As the role took shape on the page, however, Neame said the choice became clear:
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“The role of Violet Grantham was certainly not designed for Maggie … But once on the page, it did become very clear that it was her, and we had to try our best to secure her.”
Neame said Smith found the truth of Violet and made an immeasurable contribution to the series. Her performance could deliver the character’s barbed lines while also revealing vulnerability. He recalled a scene in which Violet arrives after learning of her granddaughter’s death, and remembered Smith as especially generous toward the young actors playing her granddaughters, including Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael and Jessica Brown Findlay.
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- Duration: 50.75 hours
- Soundtrack: English
- Widescreen
- Genre: Drama; TV Shows
A lasting place in the series
Smith worked on Downton Abbey across six seasons and two films, according to Neame. He recalled the cast and crew applauding as she left the set for the final time. The last Downton film had already involved the death of the Dowager Countess, Neame noted, which made the news of Smith’s death especially poignant for the show’s colleagues.
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