'Heartbroken' Rupert Grint pays emotional tribute to Maggie Smith

Rupert Grint has paid an emotional tribute to his Harry Potter co-star Dame Maggie Smith and said he is 'heartbroken to hear the news,' following her death at age 89.

It was revealed that the Downtown Abbey actress passed away inside a hospital on Friday morning - and prompted a flood of tributes as celebrities and fans mourned the heartbreaking loss.

The 36-year-old actor, who played Ron Weasley in the wizarding franchise, posted his own heartfelt tribute to his main Instagram grid on Saturday.

He shared a moving message about growing up working on the film series alongside Dame Maggie, who played Professor McGonagall in all eight movies.

Rupert quipped: 'Heartbroken to hear about Maggie. She was so special, always hilarious and always kind. 

'I feel incredibly lucky to have shared a set with her and particularly lucky to have shared a dance. I’ll miss you Maggie. Sending all my love to her family. Rupert x.'

The actor shared a snap of their characters in Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, where Professor McGonagall pulled Ron up for a dance during Yule Ball practice - one of the most memorable scenes in the franchise.

Rupert also updated his Instagram profile picture to a sweet throwback of Maggie and himself to pay tribute to her.

His emotional message comes just after the other two members of the iconic trio, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, broke their silences on Maggie's death.

Daniel first worked with Dame Maggie in 1999 when he was just nine-years-old on TV mini-series David Copperfield in which he starred alongside four more of his future Harry Potter co-stars, including Zoe Wanamaker, Imelda Staunton, Dawn French and Paul Whitehouse.

He rose to fame at 12-years-old when he starred in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with them all again in 2001. 

Paying tribute to her on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Daniel said: 'The first time I met Maggie Smith I was nine years old and we were reading through scenes for David Copperfield, which was my first job.

'I knew virtually nothing about her other than that my parents were awestruck at the fact that I would be working with her.

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'The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Dame, so the first thing I asked her when we met was "would you like me to call you Dame?" at which she laughed and said something to the effect of "don't be ridiculous!"

'I remember feeling nervous to meet her and then her putting me immediately at ease. She was incredibly kind to me on that shoot, and then I was lucky enough to go on working with her for another 10 years on the Harry Potter films.'

He spoke of her 'fierce intellect' and 'gloriously sharp tongue' and said she 'could intimidate and charm in the same instant and was, as everyone will tell you, extremely funny'.

The 35-year-old actor added: 'I will always consider myself amazingly lucky to have been able to work with her, and to spend time around her on set. The word legend is overused but if it applies to anyone in our industry then it applies to her. Thank you Maggie.'

Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, posted a heartfelt message on her Instagram story that read: 'When I was younger I had no idea of Maggie's legend - the woman I was fortunate enough to share space with.

'It is only as I've become and adult that I've come to appreciate that I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness. She was real, honest, funny and self-honouring. Maggie, there were a lot of male professors and by God you held your own. Thank you for all of your kindness. I'll miss you.'

Author JK Rowling also paid tribute to Dame Maggie with a social media post that simply said: 'Somehow I thought she'd live forever. RIP Dame Maggie Smith.'