“Downton Abbey” creator and cast pay tribute to Maggie Smith: 'Truly one of the greats'

"We were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career," Julian Fellowes said in a statement.

Maggie Smith's Downton Abbey family is remembering her massive impact. Following the legendary actress' death on Friday, the creator and cast members of the series shared their thoughts on what she meant to them.

Smith played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, for six seasons of the British period-piece drama series and its two spinoff movies. Downton Abbey continued her collaboration with creator and showrunner Julian Fellowes, who she first worked with on the film Gosford Park (which was directed by Robert Altman but written by Fellowes, who won an Oscar for the screenplay).

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"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 told Entertainment Weekly in a statement. "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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Smith's fellow Downton Abbey cast members paid her tribute as well. Hugh Bonneville shared many scenes with her, since he played the Dowager Countess' son Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham and owner of the titular Downton Abbey.

“Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent," Bonneville said in a statement. "She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Related: All of Maggie Smith's best moments in Downton Abbey

Dan Stevens was only on Downton Abbey for two seasons before his character, Matthew Crawley (a distant cousin of Bonneville's Robert), was killed off. But he still got to see Smith's power up close, and he paid tribute to her in a two-part Instagram Story on Friday.

First, Stevens called Smith "one of the greats" alongside two photos of the late actress: One of her in her youth, the other of her on Downton Abbey. In the second part of his Instagram Story, Stevens posted a clip from Tea with the Dames, the 2018 documentary in which Smith gabbed with her fellow esteemed actresses Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins.

"If you've never seen Tea with the Dames, today would be a great day to watch," Stevens wrote.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.