Critics' Circle Award for Maggie Smith

Published: 3 April 2016
Reporter: Sandra Giorgetti

Dame Maggie Smith Credit: Elliot Franks

Earlier in the week, Dame Maggie Smith received the Critics' Circle Award 2015 for Services to the Arts.

Accepting the engraved crystal rose bowl, she said, "I feel very, very honoured. I know people say and I've certainly said I don't read the critics, which a lot of actors say very airily, but believe me, you get to know what's there.

"But I did learn a lesson once—I was sitting in a hotel with Frank Finlay who was a wonderful actor, we were filming Othello, but there was a newspaper there and I read it; there was a review in there and it was absolutely lethal and truly frightening.

"It was for The Master Builder at the National, and I remember bursting into tears. Frank gave me a great big hug and said, 'what you must think about is how many actresses you've made very happy'. I don't know if the critic who wrote that is here, but it was a very good lesson."

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