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Maggie Smith was a legend in her own right and had an illustrious career spanning several decades. All the Harry Potter fans would remember her as Professor Minerva McGonagall, a tough and rule-abiding witch. But in reality, Smith was the complete opposite of her character, widely beloved for her kind and composed demeanor. While the entire world was grieving the loss of such a talented actress, it was her friend, Judi Dench, whose reaction to Smith’s death further broke everyone’s heart.

Maggie Smith in a still from Harry Potter | Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures

The last couple of weeks have been quite tough on English actress Judi Dench, who lost not one but two of her closest friends, that too within a week. When she was asked the same question during a recent interview, her answer had everyone crying in the corner.

Actress Judi Dench’s Emotional Response to...

A week after Maggie Smith‘s death, best friend Dame Judi Dench is at a loss for words.

When asked about Smith’s death at age 89, as well as the death of friend and collaborator Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Dench broke down into tears during a conversation on Saturday at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

“I suppose the energy that’s created by grief…” started Dench before choking up, according to The Times, after interviewer Brendan O’Hea asked what she meant by comparing her grief around late husband Michael Williams’ 2001 death to petrol.

Smith “passed away peacefully” on Friday, Sept. 27, her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin announced in a joint statement.

She and Dench appeared together in such films as A Room with a View (1985), Tea with Mussolini (1999) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), as well as numerous stage productions.

Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in A Room with a View (1985). (Cinecom/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Robert Fox,...

Veteran British actress Dame Judi Dench was so in awe of Clint Eastwood he took her "breath away" on the set of J. Edgar.

The Shakespeare In Love star received a personal phone call from the screen legend to ask her to star in the biopic, which he directed.

Dench was so stunned she thought the call was a prank, and admits she was left starstruck again when she finally came face-to-face with the Hollywood legend.

She tells Total Film magazine, "He rang me up at home. I thought it was my friend Brendan O'Hea. He said, 'Judi. It's Clint Eastwood.' I said, 'Oh... Come on, Brendan!'

"I went out to set and I'd still not met him. I got ready and sat down. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. My heart dropped out. There he was. He took my breath away and I was very shy. He's enormously tall, very slim and has fantastic blue eyes."...