Maggie Smith and Michelle Dockery were brilliant in Downton Abbey. Their characters always seemed two to three steps ahead of everyone with their wit. And were hilarious to boot.
Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through their understanding of how the social contracts really worked. And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the future of the estate to Mary.
Gosford Park? Omg, that's the only one worth watching! It has a plot. I period drama but couldn't get past two episodes of Downton Abbey. Too sugary and boring.
If you haven't already make sure you watch Brideshead revisited.
You have Phoebe Nicholls (who played Lady Rose's mother) and Diana Quick (Polina Molotova in The Death of Stalin and the Queen in the eponymous BBC series) doing some similar social machinations in the background of an absolutely stacked period-drama with a cast including Jeremy Irons, Laurence Olivier, and John Gielgud.
A towering presence of British stage and screen, with Dame Judi Dench being about the last of that golden generation since the passing of Diana Riggs (Olenna Tyrell).
Time for a rewatch of Gosford Park while archly sipping gin out of a china teacup with a raised pinkie.
Yeah she was a big loss, a 60s bond girl and all-round sex symbol who went on to completely transcend that label and developed into a serious thespian and RSC/Old Vic stalwart. She absolutely holds her own as the Wife of Olivier's Lear.
I'm delighted she got to work with Edgar Wright before her death and put in a great turn in Last Night in Soho; I'd a big fear she'd peter out with a few Dr.Who episodes in a fairly unceremonious end to a glittering and exremely accomplished career.
She was an absolutely wonderful actress. The Washington Post also has an article announcing her death [0]. It goes into a lot of depth about her work and who she was.
For her passing to make the front page of HN when she has no presence in the tech world really speaks to her impact. I imagine very few people would reach that level. Wonderful actress, she was the best character in Downton.
Truly one of the greatest actors of all time. For those of you that haven't seen this, I strongly recommend watching this show. Just a group of ladies having tea and a chat. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7363336/
Showing my age a bit here, but when I think of her this film is always what I'm reminded of. That phrase "I am Miss Jean Brodie... and I am in my prime" in her frightfully posh Scottish accent rattles around my head quite a bit for some reason.
I think her character Prof. McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies drew heavily on her much earlier role as that other Scottish school teacher, Jean Brodie.
I was fortunate enough to see her in that on stage. She and Nick Farrell were on top form. It's a highlight.
I shed real tears when I saw that she had passed. The other week, with James Earl Jones, as well. We're losing a generation of actors with real, deep roots in theatre, who then adapted to TV and cinema as those media matured. They're a bridge generation, and their experience will not be replicated. The profession and the culture are the poorer for their loss.
Maggie Smith's character in both Abbey and HP brooked no BS. We're reaching the time now when more of the Harry Potter teachers are leaving this world, I am not looking forward to the students.
Robert Crawley was nominally in charge of everything. But it was clear that Violet and Mary were pulling all the strings through their understanding of how the social contracts really worked. And it was fitting that in the finale Violet hands over the future of the estate to Mary.