during the years of 2007-2011, dame maggie smith (prof. mcgonagall) continued to film the final harry potter movies, all while battling breast cancer. during the filming of harry potter and the half-blood prince, smith had shingles and was forced to wear a wig in order to continue filming. on the subject, smith said, “if there’s work to do i’ll do it. i’ve still got to stagger through the last harry potter. the cancer was hideous. it takes the wind out of your sails and i don’t know what the future holds, if anything. you feel so ghastly, you wouldn’t mind dying a lot of the time. the last couple of years have been a write-off, though i’m beginning to feel like a person now. my energy is coming back. i ought to pull myself together a bit.” she’s a truly incredible and inspiring woman, and should be admired greatly.
