Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1837
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Maggie Smith represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 47 years in, and Maggie is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Maggie Smith appears in 28 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Maggie. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the clearest case: a film rated 8.3 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, drama, romance. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Thaddeus O'Sullivan, Simon Curtis, John Stevenson and others, Maggie Smith helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) as Minerva McGonagall · Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) as Minerva McGonagall · Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) as Minerva McGonagall
Career snapshot
Ranked #1837 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
28
1976–2023
Career length
47 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.3
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Average Nutevio score
7.0
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Most frequent director
David Yates
3 films together
Longest collaboration
3×
With David Yates
Most common genre
Comedy
12 titles
Average runtime
2h 1m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.3
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
7.0
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2000s
7.6 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Becoming Jane — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
7.6
Across 9 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
7.4
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1970s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Death on the Nile, Murder by Death.
Most productive era
2000s
9 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 6.82 films | 6.52 films | 6.73 films | 6.72 films | 6.82 films |
| Thriller | — | 6.81 film | — | 6.81 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 7.01 film | — | 6.75 films | 6.11 film | 6.44 films | 6.31 film |
| Crime | 7.01 film | 6.81 film | — | — | — | — |
| Romance | — | 6.81 film | — | 7.31 film | — | 7.21 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1976Murder by Death
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Dora Charleston.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8.3 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2023The Miracle Club
The current state of the argument, as Lily Fox.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
28 of 28 films
as Minerva McGonagall
Directed by David Yates
as Minerva McGonagall
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
as Minerva McGonagall
Directed by Chris Columbus
as Minerva McGonagall
Directed by Mike Newell
as Minerva McGonagall
Directed by Chris Columbus
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Minerva McGonagall
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Minerva McGonagall gives Maggie Smith a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Minerva McGonagall
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Performance score8.0
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Minerva McGonagall is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Minerva McGonagall
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Performance score7.9
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Minerva McGonagall is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Minerva McGonagall
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Performance score7.8
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Minerva McGonagall is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Minerva McGonagall
Start here. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the clearest statement of what Maggie Smith does — accessible, 130 minutes, and rated 8.3 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Maggie at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Keeps the fantasy register of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 but asks for a colder reading of it.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Same director as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Keeps the fantasy register of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets but asks for a colder reading of it.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Keeps the fantasy register of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
David Yates
Director
3 films together
Notably Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Chris Columbus
Director
2 films together
Notably Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
John Madden
Director
2 films together
Notably The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Robert Moore
Director
1 film together
Notably Murder by Death
John Guillermin
Director
1 film together
Notably Death on the Nile
Guy Hamilton
Director
1 film together
Notably Evil Under the Sun
James Ivory
Director
1 film together
Notably A Room with a View
Steven Spielberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Hook
Emile Ardolino
Director
1 film together
Notably Sister Act
Bill Duke
Director
1 film together
Notably Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Richard Loncraine
Director
1 film together
Notably Richard III
Hugh Wilson
Director
1 film together
Notably The First Wives Club
Franco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together
Notably Tea with Mussolini
Robert Altman
Director
1 film together
Notably Gosford Park
Callie Khouri
Director
1 film together
Notably Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Alfonso Cuarón
Director
1 film together
Notably Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Mike Newell
Director
1 film together
Notably Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Julian Jarrold
Director
1 film together
Notably Becoming Jane
Susanna White
Director
1 film together
Notably Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
Kelly Asbury
Director
1 film together
Notably Gnomeo & Juliet
John Stevenson
Director
1 film together
Notably Sherlock Gnomes
Simon Curtis
Director
1 film together
Notably Downton Abbey: A New Era
Thaddeus O'Sullivan
Director
1 film together
Notably The Miracle Club
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
David Yates
Director
3 films together · 8.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2Chris Columbus
Director
2 films together · 8.1 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's StoneJohn Madden
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Best Exotic Marigold HotelAlfonso Cuarón
Director
1 film together · 8.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanMike Newell
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireJulian Jarrold
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Becoming JaneSimon Curtis
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Downton Abbey: A New EraJohn Guillermin
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Death on the NileRobert Moore
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Murder by DeathEmile Ardolino
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sister ActSteven Spielberg
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HookRobert Altman
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gosford ParkJames Ivory
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
A Room with a ViewGuy Hamilton
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Evil Under the SunHugh Wilson
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The First Wives ClubRichard Loncraine
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Richard IIIBill Duke
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sister Act 2: Back in the HabitFranco Zeffirelli
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tea with MussoliniThaddeus O'Sullivan
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Miracle ClubSusanna White
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Nanny McPhee and the Big BangCallie Khouri
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya SisterhoodKelly Asbury
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gnomeo & JulietJohn Stevenson
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Sherlock GnomesSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Minerva McGonagall
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Becoming Jane
as Lady Gresham
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Minerva McGonagall
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
as Minerva McGonagall
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Minerva McGonagall
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Maggie Smith has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
47 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
12 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Minerva McGonagall
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Murder by Death
as Dora Charleston
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Downton Abbey: A New Era
as Violet Crawley
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Murder by Death
as Dora Charleston
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Minerva McGonagall
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
as Minerva McGonagall
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Tea with Mussolini
as Lady Hester Random
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
as Minerva McGonagall
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Have your say
Community
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Reference
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