Mike Newell on Maggie Smith: ‘She never bit me, but if she did bite, you stayed bitten’

Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall dancing with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was directed by Mike Newell. Photograph: Warner Bros/Allstar

I first met Maggie on the Harry Potter films, when she played Minerva McGonagall in Goblet of Fire. It wasn’t a very big part but she was always very notable, always poised in whatever she did – even when wearing a comedy hat.

She brought a lot to the part, and to the set – and one of those things was terror. Maggie never bit me, but I think if she did bite you, you stayed bitten.