Downton Abbey star Maggie Smith ‘hates’ watching herself on screen

By Richard Aldhous

Maggie Smith admits that after all the years she still can't stand watching herself back on screen.
Maggie Smith admits that after all the years she still can't stand watching herself back on screen.
Maggie Smith may be one of the most enduring names in TV and cinema, but as she tells MiNDFOOD, the veteran actress still hates watching herself back on screen - and nothing could prepare her for the "awful" fame and extra attention that Downton Abbey has brought.

Dame Maggie Smith’s place as a British drama institution is unquestionable, and her return as Violet Crawley in the upcoming Downton Abbey: A New Era movie at 87, offers her box office acclaim she has perhaps has never before experienced.

And yet away from the red carpets, the flashbulbs and the seemingly endless press junkets, this is someone ill at ease with the demands of fame.

“I really don’t like to watch myself – I hate it.  You are helpless to do anything to stop it once it’s out there, and that has always terrified me,” she begins.

“In the theatre things are a little different because you can say to yourself ‘I’ll have another go at that tomorrow night… I’ll change that, alter that…’, but with cinema it is there forever.

Read more:
Exclusive – Michelle Dockery enjoys ‘same great feeling’ of returning to Downton
The costumes are back! Take a tour of the Downton Abbey wardrobe

Sometimes you are forced to see yourself at a premiere, and you think, ‘Why on earth did I do it like that?’. You would suppose that after all this time I might have got used to it, but I haven’t!”

Smith admits that she's unlikely to stop "caring too much" any time soon.
Smith admits that she’s unlikely to stop “caring too much” any time soon.

Twice-married Smith’s working life has a longevity that’s difficult to fathom. First stepping into the spotlight in 1952 under the auspices of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, she appeared as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse.

WIN: A Viking River Cruise valued at $20,000, including a visit to the real Downton Abbey in the UK

Switching between theatre and film – from a first Oscar nomination in 1965 opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello, to an Academy Award for Best Actress for the title role in 1969 film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – her work has only ever disappointed one person… herself!

“People have said I am too hard on myself, but it just goes with the territory.

“The truth is I’m critical of everything because I care and worry too much. I’d love to be more relaxed, but after all this time I don’t think I’m going to change now.”

Maggie Smith feels her life pre-Downton was "normal" given the added fame and attention she now receives.
Maggie Smith feels her life was “normal” until Downton Abbey brought along extra fame and attention.

From intense drama to rich comedy, Smith has circumnavigated a cross-section of work that diversifies from Hook and Sister Act in the 1990s through to the Harry Potter movies over the past two decades.

And while many saw her place in Downton Abbey as being perhaps a gentle sojourn into retirement every bit as decorated as the lady herself, the popularity of Highclere Castle and all those who reside in and around it has seen her star glide higher than ever before.

Maggie Smith says the extra fame and attention from Downton Abbey “flattering, but awful”.

“It’s ridiculous – I was able to live a somewhat normal life until I started doing Downton Abbey,” she laughs. “I know that sounds funny, but I am serious. Before that I could go to all the places I wanted and see all of the things that I like, but now I can’t, which I find incredibly awful… flattering, but awful.”

Smith admits she has never watched a single episode of Downton Abbey – “and I don’t plan on starting now” – but is thrilled something as traditional as a period drama has engaged a watching audience that might otherwise be distracted by CGI, green screens and special effects so readily used by today’s studios.

“It’s very easy to get carried away by the technology that’s available these days, but when people can invest in the honesty and simplicity of great scriptwriting, it restores your faith in what it is we do.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login