When Dame Maggie Smith, 89, passed away on 27 September of last year, the weight of her death fell heavily on her sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens. Now, though, Stephens decided to open up about his mother’s death.
The legendary stage and screen actress was famous for her role as Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, in addition to the roles she played in her eight-decade career.
Both sons released a statement after her passing
Tributes flooded the social media and news outlets as soon as they learned of her death, with the sons clarifying that she “passed away peacefully.”
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“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,” they said in their statement.
Stephens explained his mother’s last days
Stephens was away for filming after his mother reassured him that it was fine for him to travel, now, he reveals that he was unable to make it on time at the hospital to be with his mother.
He opened up to the Sunday Times during the weekend (February 16) and elaborated on what happened during their last moments together.
The last two years weren’t her best
“She was in hospital. She was supposed to be coming out, but the last two years of her life had been a decline,” he told the outlet.
“She would get worse, then she would get better, then she would get worse [again]. So I said, ‘Look I’ve got this film’, and before I could even ask her, she said, ‘Go do it. God, you don’t want to hang round here, I’m fine,’” he continued.
Larkin was there but Stephens wasn’t
The dame’s eldest son was able to be with her but unfortunately for Stephens, his mother died on the last day of filming of his New Zealand horror movie, Marmara.
Stephens expressed his sadness about not being able to attend his mother’s last moments.
He was trying to fathom what happened
“I was so sad not to be with him, I found that very difficult. But she was no longer aware – and it allowed me some space to actually get my head round what had happened,” Stephens explained
The response to his mother’s death got to him
“The thing that really got me was: it’s very rare that you have actors that everyone likes. And she had spent her life not thinking of herself like that, which is very winning,” the Die Another Day actor explained.
“If she had thought of herself like that it would have been ghastly. But she wasn’t like that at all. She had self-knowledge, self-belief. Like most actors, though, she was riven with self-doubt,” he added.
