Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to his today Harry Potter costar Maggie Smith, who died this morning at the age of 89.

The two actors actually met on a job prior to the Potter franchise, when both were cast in a 1999 BBC adaptation by David Copperfield. Radcliffe played the young Copperfield, and Smith his great-aunt Betsey Trotwood.

“The first time I met Maggie Smith I was nine years old and we read through scenes for David Copperfield, which was my first job,” Radcliffe said in a statement to the press today. “I knew next to nothing about her, except that my parents were impressed that I would be working with her.

“The other thing I knew about her was that she was a Lady,” he continued, “so the first thing I asked her when we met was, ‘Do you want me to call you Lady?’ whereupon she laughed and said something to the effect of ‘don’t be ridiculous!’ I remember being nervous to meet her and she immediately put me at ease. She was incredibly kind to me during that shoot, and after that I was lucky enough to continue working with her for another ten years on the Harry Potter films. She had a fierce intellect, a wonderfully sharp tongue, could intimidate and charm at the same time and was, as anyone will tell you, extremely funny. I will always consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to work with her and spend time with her on set. The word legend is overused, but if it applies to anyone in our industry, it applies to her. Thanks Maggie.”