Maggie Smith a Portrait | part 1 

No.

Dame Maggie.

same !

Perhaps it would be more useful if you have remembered her in her younger days

but still better when aged..😊

The creme de la creme.

Very well stated. She has always been one of my favorite actresses.

I much prefer British and French actors to American actors. They also have more wit and intelligence - not always, but most of them time, I wonder if it's because most of them go to university or study Shakespeare, and old English. Also, the films they do tend to have more depth, less directness and just one message or plot, and most are also able to perform plays, musicals, on television as well as film etc. Their interviews are far more interesting and have more substance, and they talk much better English. I find most American interviewers use simple English, and it's less interesting. I highly recommend The Actor's Studio, if you can still find it. The best interviews are with British actors, both male and female. Just watching Colin Firth, Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Ian McKellen etc are so much better than most of the other American actors. I do admire some American actors, but they tend to be much older like Harrison Ford, and most of the other ones who have died, like Gene Kelly, Katherine Hepburn, Debbie Reynolds, and most of them who do musicals, dance and films.

Anna Clarke I was just thinking that too, I love older actresses like meryl Streep, Diane Keaton , Candace Bergen and Jane Fonda. Of course Maggie is my favourite. The younger actresses are physically gorgeous but are boring

I wouldn't say Maggie Smith is a Hollywood legend, I'd prefer to place her with Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Burton and so many others into the Great British Cinema actors - she, like many british actors has placed herself in that category with her talent and beauty. . . saying this, I'm not trying to diminish Joan's or Bette's talent . .but, when I read or hear something Hollywood is producing, I cannot stop thinking it will be a BLOCKBUSTER or something to make money . . I mean - another COMMERCIAL movie coming to theaters - of course, there are projects in Hollywood quite interesting . . but I would not associate talented British Actors with Hollywood despite having won Academy Awards . . . it is just my opinion.Good Vibes. Greetings from Lima, Perú.

santiago76able

santiago76able, your comment is absolutely spot on! Some British actors are so underrated, and quite the opposite with some American who get overnight recognition after some Hollywood blockbusters catapult into the limelight. Why I think British drama is second to none! Greetings from London.

Gracias Eduardo, me gusta mucho tu comentario. I Love British Productions.

I think the difference between British and US actors is, here in the UK actors often attend RADA etc and go on to do an awful lot of theatre. In the US looks often seem to be more important than talent, which I presume the film studios hope will follow.

I hope you are still with us - a year later.?? 👍

It's rather like a writer being asked about something they are writjng. I used to write a bit, and found that if I talked about it too much while in process, when I returned to it, it had somehow died on the page, as if airing it beforehand then made it fall flat to me. It was over...the inspiration shared was then gone.

@@deb7518 what you are saying confirms what I have heard in the past. That if you talk about something you use up the energy and then you don’t actually do it.

Imelda Stilton?

Meryl Streep, in my opinion, doesn't even come close. And after her ridiculous comments at the Golden Globes ( "So if you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts. And that is not the arts," ) I now don't even like her as a person .

I think of Meryl as Beyonce of actresses technically amazing but not touching. Maggie is the direct opposite her characters are almost always funny not too dramatic but always touching.

I was just pondering this because they are both wonderful, but there is something more moving in Maggie Smith's acting. But not entirely....think of "Sophie's Choice" or "The Deer Hunter." It may be that Maggie Smith can also be so fierce and that the contrast is amazing.

Meryl Streep is just mediocre in comparison with Maggie Smith or Judi Dench. You know, just short of that cultural heritage and sediment

I always feel that Meryl Streep is acting her roles and you can tell. She is seldomly not 'acting', in The Bridge over Madison she was good and you forgot her as Meryl Streep but you kind of see her in all her other roles. She's a good actress but not one you'd forget about, and just remember their characters. Maggie Smith is one that takes over the character, and though you know it's Maggie Smith, you tend to forget about her and remember the role in the film. I believe that is superior acting. Judi Dench sometimes has the same problem as Meryl, which is why I don't always like her acting, even though because she's played more Queens so she's more respected as an actress in Britain. I much prefer Maggie and Geraldine McEwan, Patricia Routledge, Vanessa Redgrave, Pam Ferris etc. Emma Thompson also has that, where she's always playing herself, you always see her in it, her best role was probably in Harry Potter, in which you don't even recognise her.

Belinda Peng Her son, actor Toby Stephens, is very much like her in her younger years

She reminds me of Susan Sarandon

@@ralfmoniqueuhlemann4426 yeah i know where you coming from. Its the eyes isn't it? But to me she is a mixture of Kate Blanched, Vanessa Redgrave and Imelda StaStaun...

Yes, I saw that film. Back in the 1960s, I think. Maggie Smith was a wonderful Desdemona.

prince Kuragin...100% fictional

Yes

its funny but to me , in her younger days she is a mixture of Kate Blanched, Imelda Staunton and Vanessa Redgrave...😊