‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Honors Maggie Smith: ‘Working With Her Has Been the Greatest Privilege of My Career’

“Downton Abbey” creator and writer Julian Fellowes has paid tribute to the late Maggie Smith, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89.

While the most famous collaboration between Smith and Fellowes may have been on the plush, award-winning period drama series, on which Smith notably played the the acid-tongued Dowager Countess, the two had actually worked together several times previously. Smith starred in Robert Altman’s 2001 feature “Gosford Park,” which was written by Fellowes, who would later direct the legendary actor in 2009’s fantasy drama “From Time to Time.”

“Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career,” Fellowes wrote in a statement provided to Variety. “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.”

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Meanwhile, Carnival Films’ founder Gareth Neame, executive producer of the “Downton Abbey” series and producer of the ”Downton Abbey” films, described Smith’s role on the show as “one of the finest screen performances” of all time.

“The entire cast and crew of Downton Abbey considered it an enormous honor to work with her, she was an actress of such stature whose incredible talent could encompass high comedy and full-blown tragedy,” he said. “Off-screen she was particularly close to the cast who played the other members of her family and was very generous and full of encouragement for the younger actors.”

Added Neame: “It is personally poignant that my late grandfather directed one of her finest performances in ’The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie’ for which she won her first Academy Award. Jean Brodie and Violet Grantham are but two creations in an extraordinary career spanning decades and delighting audiences across the globe. There is only one Maggie Smith and she will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with her family.”

Smith’s acclaimed work on ITV and PBS’ “Masterpiece” hit “Downton Abbey,” in which she starred across all six seasons and two spin-off features (which ended with her character’s death in the second), came towards the end of what had been a glittering career on stage and screen, amassing a new legion of fans while in her late 70s. For the role as the Dowager Countess, she won two Emmys and was nominated for two more, adding to an array of awards that also included two Oscars.