Watch Sir Ian McKellen Do a Spot-On Impression of Friend Maggie Smith Teasing Him at the Oscars

Dame Maggie Smith will be remembered for her incomparable skills on screen, but also for how she made people laugh.

In a February 2017 appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Sir Ian McKellen recalled running into Smith on the red carpet ahead of the 2002 Academy Awards.

McKellen was there alongside the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor his role as Gandalf, while Smith was nominated Best Supporting Actress for her role as Constance Trentham in Gosford Park.

“In New Zealand, where we filmed Lord of the Rings, if you’re lucky, when you leave, you’re given a piece of green stone, carved. You wear it often enough, and your chances are you’ll get back to New Zealand,” McKellen explained.

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“That was the idea, and that it’ll give you a little bit of luck. So when the film was nominated for something like 20 Oscars that night, everybody from New Zealand was wearing the green stone, the pounamu.”

He went on to explain he was wearing his that night when he ran into Smith, immediately breaking into an imitation of the actress’ distinct way of speaking.

“What’s that thing around your neck?” he imitated her asking, to which the audience erupted in laughter.

“It’s my pounamu, Maggie,” he replied, to which she said asked what it was for. He explained and Smith seemed skeptical when they parted ways for the night.

“So, you know, it lasts for 3½, 4 hours. And then the end, of course, everyone else wins the Oscar apart from you. And a bit dejected, you come out and you’re looking forward to a drink, and you bump into Maggie Smith and she points at you and says, ‘Didn’t work, did it?’ “

Smith didn’t go home with her award that evening either, bested by Jennifer Connelly for her role in A Beautiful Mind. The actress, who appeared in more than 50 films, won two Academy Awards for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and California Suite (1978). She also nabbed four Golden Globe Awards and had three additional Oscar nominations.

One of the world’s most distinguished actresses, Smith died at 89 years old on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. Her sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, confirmed the news, saying in a statement via publicist Clair Dobbs, “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.”

“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September,” they continued. “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days,” Stephens and Larkin added.

The brothers concluded, “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Smith is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.