Playing Professor McGonagall “wasn’t what you’d call satisfying”

When it comes to the Harry Potter films, there are certain actors from the franchise who the fans consider iconic. For example, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Maggie Smith playing Professor Minerva McGonagall; her performance, especially in the later films, has been lauded as one of the best in the series. For that reason, it may be surprising to learn that Smith herself didn’t get much satisfaction from playing Harry’s Transfiguration teacher for the better part of a decade.

In an interview with ES Magazine, the 84-year-old actor admitted that she didn’t find her roles in Harry Potter or Downton Abbey (as the imperious Dowager Countess Violet Crawley) particularly satisfying, referring to them as the kind of “light comedy” she spent the beginning of her career trying to move on from. “I am deeply grateful for the work in Harry Potter and indeed Downton [Abbey], but it wasn’t what you’d call satisfying,” Smith explained. “I didn’t really feel like I was acting in those things.”

When it comes to performing, Smith’s preference is to be onstage rather than onscreen. She began her career in the theater, making her debut in the Oxford University Dramatic Society’s rendition of Twelfth Night before moving on to the West End and then to the National Theatre company at The Old Vic. “I wanted to get back to the stage so much because theater is basically my favorite medium, and I think I felt as though I’d left it all unfinished,” she said. “But there wasn’t anything that came along.”

As for what sparked Smith’s interest in acting to begin with, she couldn’t quite pinpoint the source. She did, however, suggest that her parents had nothing to do with it. From her interview, it seems like her family wasn’t very interested in theater or film when she was growing up. “Honest to God, I have no idea where the urge came from,” she said. “It was such a ghastly time, and we didn’t go to the theater. I got into terrible trouble once because the neighbours took me to the cinema on a Sunday. But I had a wonderful teacher, Dorothy Bartholomew, who also taught Miriam Margolyes, and who encouraged me.”

Wherever the motivation came from, we’re grateful Smith decided to go into acting and gave us so many memorable performances, including as Minerva McGonagall. After all, even if the role wasn’t satisfying to her, it certainly seems to have satisfied all of the Harry Potter fans who continue to rave about her portrayal of the character to this day.

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