From Maggie Smith to Judi Dench, how Britain’s ageing female stars created a genre and became box office catnip
The IndependentAmong the many glowing obituaries of Dame Maggie Smith, who died last week at the age of 89, one important point has mostly been overlooked. This is largely down to the three actors’ roles in big Hollywood franchises – Smith in Harry Potter, Dench in James Bond, and Mirren in Fast & Furious. open image in gallery Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ Mirren, meanwhile, started off on stage, and still admits today to the nagging feeling that movies somehow aren’t quite “real acting”. open image in gallery Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren in ‘Caligula’ It’s 20 years now since Dench and Smith co-starred in actor Charles Dance’s directorial debut Ladies in Lavender. open image in gallery Dench warmer: Judi in ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ Movies may have started as an afterthought for all of them, but that has completely changed over the last 30 years.
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