Quote: "Now I'm stuck with being a mean old cow. I'm stuck with that, but you know, so be it." Dame Maggie Smith accepts she often gets offers to play grumpy characters, like the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey and homeless Mary Shepherd in her latest movie, The Lady in the Van.
Quote: "I was told that she watches it, but then a gentleman at the palace told me she likes Midsomer Murders - I didn't take it badly!" Downton Abbey star Dame Maggie Smith was thrilled to discover Queen Elizabeth II is a fan of the period drama.
Fact: A mansion featured in U.K. TV series Downton Abbey has sold for around $9.6 million (£6 million). Byfleet Manor in Surrey, England, served as Dower House, the fictional home of Dame Maggie Smith's character the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
Quote: "I'm exhausted now the filming is over, and all I want to do is to lie down and watch the box-sets, as I've never seen the show in full. I don't know how I've managed to get through it all. I feel as tired as one of Violet's wigs." DAME Maggie Smith needs a lie down after six years of filming Downton Abbey.
Quote: "If I had to live in the real Downton days, what I would miss most is the mobile phone. Plus, I prefer to live in times that don't involve corsets." DAME Maggie Smith on what she'd miss if she was transported back in time.
Quote: "Lots of people are afraid of her, but I just decided, 'What the heck, I'm just going for it.' I was like a kid who'd drunk a thousand Red Bulls between takes. Whenever I was trying to unwind and relax, I'd sit there and scream out, I had so much energy. Poor Maggie was like, 'What the hell is this guy doing?'" Actor Dev Patel left his THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL co-star DAME Maggie Smith a little bewildered with his wild onset behaviour.
Quote: "Children still come up to me and ask if I can turn them into a cat. Unfortunately it’s a very tricky thing to do.” DAME Maggie Smith on the strange request she gets from eager Harry Potter fans. The British acting veteran and Downton Abbey star played Professor Minerva MCGonagall in the movies, based on the J.K. Rowling novels.
Fact: Hollywood veteran Richard Gere has officially signed on to star alongside Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Dame Maggie Smith in the upcoming sequel to surprise 2011 hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The Pretty Woman star was said to be in talks to join the old-timers back in October (13), and now his involvement has been confirmed. Production on the movie, directed by John Madden, is currently underway in India.
Fact: Dame Judi Dench is set to join a list of Hollywood stars including Maggie Smith and Michael Gambon in upcoming stage performances to celebrate the 50th birthday of London's National Theatre. The stars will revive individual key scenes from landmark shows since the venue opened in 1963. The invitation only event will be hosted on 02 November (13).
Fact: Garden gnomes decorated by stars including Dame Helen Mirren and Dame Maggie Smith for this year's (13) Chelsea Flower Show in London have raised $43,000 (£28,000) for charity. Sir Elton John's gnome was the star attraction - it sold for $7,900 (£5,100).
Quote: "I adore Maggie. I've known her for years... I think we were lovers in another life. Possibly that's a joke, but all kinds of humour are real." Veteran actress Shirley Maclaine on working with longtime pal Dame Maggie Smith in hit U.K. TV drama Downton Abbey.
Quote: "Others sign on for the next series and they sign for this and they sign for that, but she doesn't. She stays her own person. But, as far as I'm concerned, I hope she stays with the show until Downton falls down." Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes hopes his leading lady Dame Maggie Smith never leaves the show.
Quote: "I know we're not really allowed to talk about dead people any more, well, I'm sorry, then I've got no conversation. I do find I'm talking about dead people most of the time." Actress DAME Maggie Smith is prone to talking about the dead more than the living.