The late Dame Maggie Smith died aged 89 on Friday as her sons announced she ‘passed away peacefully’ – but who are brothers Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens?
Outside of her acclaimed career, the Downton Abbey star led a turbulent personal life and married her first husband, actor Sir Robert Stephens, in 1967 – the same year she gave birth to her eldest son Larkin, 57, and two years before her second son Stephens, 55, was born.
The pair went on to star together in her Oscar-winning movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and the nominated film Travels with My Aunt.
By 1970, however, the marriage was put under pressure by Stephens’ mental health troubles (including an attempted suicide) and infidelity, with Smith calling their marriage ‘hopeless’ in a 2004 interview.
Smith married playwright Beverley Cross in 1975 after her divorce, and the pair remained together until Cross died in 1998 – all while she continued to raise her sons.
They paid tribute to their mother in a statement. ‘She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,’ they said.
And their connection with the acting legend goes beyond biology as both men ended up in the TV and film industry just like their mother – and you’ll likely recognise them in some of their bigger roles.
In a 2014 interview with the Telegraph, Smith joked about her sons’ choice to join the same industry.
‘God knows, they weren’t encouraged. I think they sort of fought it, but I’m glad they gave in because even with all its horrors this profession is fascinating,’ she said at the time.
What movies and TV shows has Toby Stephens been in?
British actor Toby Stephens is perhaps best known for his role as James Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 movie, Die Another Day.
His other credits have included starring as Doctor Edward Armstrong in BBC thriller And Then There Were None, as Captain Flint in the pirate drama Black Sails, and embodying Poseidon in Disney+’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Oh, and Mr Rochester in the 2006 adaptation of Jane Eyre opposite Ruth Wilson. He even made a cameo in Netflix’s recent series One Day as Lionel.
In 2012 the father-of-three admitted that he had no interest in ever sharing the stage or screen with his mother.
‘I have a policy with my mum — we both kind of think that the family acting thing is a bit naff. I cringe when I see that someone obviously thought, ‘Hey, we’re both actors, why don’t we do something together?’ he said at the time.
He also ended up crossing paths with his late biological father during their overlapping time at the Royal Shakespeare Company and reflected on the experience in The Telegraph in 2014.
‘It was good meeting him when I did and getting to know him because then I didn’t have this baggage of being angry with him,’ he said at the time.
‘I had a fantastic stepfather so I didn’t resent him in any way, although I was unnerved by him. He was not an easy man although he was incredibly charming, gregarious and fun.’
What movies and TV shows has Chris Larkin been in?
Stephens’ older brother Larkin has also enjoyed a fruitful career as a professional actor.
In 2019 he appeared as Nigel Jones in Keira Knightley’s movie Official Secrets and his other major films include 2003 hit Master and Commander and 2008’s Valkyrie as Sergeant Helm.
Elsewhere, he starred as Richard Brown in Outlander and even did his own stint in his brother’s drama Black Sails as Captain Berringer. As well as playing Bernard Wooley in Yes, Prime Minster.
He has also cameo’d in Doctor Who, Casualty, Holby City and even appeared in the 1996 version of Jane Eyre as Frederick Lynn alongside William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Larkin has been candid about his name change at 19, citing that he was keen to separate his professional and personal life after the name Christopher Stephens was already taken.
‘I wanted to do it on my own,’ Larkin told The Times in 2013.
‘My father, was always trying to get me to trade on the family connection. He never got the changing of the name.
‘He would go: “Why don’t you change it back?” But that was the choice I made. And I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had gone back on it. It would have been admitting defeat.’
Unlike Stephens, Larkin has worked with Smith before including 1999 movie Tea With Mussolini.
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