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Dame Maggie Smith says her battle with breast cancer has left her too frightened to return to the theatre.
The veteran actress, winner of five Baftas and two Oscars, said she may turn her back on the stage altogether now that her intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimes have come to an end.
The 74-year-old, who starred in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and the Harry Potter films, told The Times that the whole experience had left her "flattened" with no energy or confidence.
"I'm not sure I could go back to theatre work," she added. "I'm frightened to work in theatre now. I feel very uncertain. I haven't done it for a while.
"It's one of those things you ought to keep on doing and I haven't for a bit. I would love to be able to, because I do love it, but I feel a great lack of confidence. I am fearful of the amount of energy one needs."
Her last stage role was in The Lady From Dubuque in 2007.
She said the experience had "very much" changed her, adding: "I think it's the age I was when it happened. It knocks you sideways. It takes you longer to recover, you are not so resilient."
She said the cancer was "hideous", the chemotherapy "something that makes you feel much worse than the cancer itself", and that she had felt "horribly sick" throughout.
She said she was planning to "stagger through" the final Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hallows, but was not sure what would happen after that.
"I don't think I've fulfilled myself," she said of her acting. "I don't think I've been good enough.
"I'm beginning to feel like a person now. My energy is coming back. S*** happens. I ought to pull myself together a bit."
Reader views (5)
I've been a keen follower of her work since I was a girl, which has been over 40 years and counting. I trust and hope she will regain her strength of body and spirit (as far as I'm concerned, she has plenty of strength of character) and will grace the stage again. If not, she has certainly earned her retirement and I hope she has plenty of time to enjoy her grandchildren and her travels. Bless you, Dame Maggie!
- Judith, Los Angeles US
God Bless her,she's great,all together now,keep punching away,we want to see you with your Birthday Telegram fom King William.
- Kenneth Bowry, LONDON
Wishing her a full recovery and a return to the stage where she rules. My favorite actress. I've seen her five times in the West End and would pay to see her in anything; even if it was just reading the telephone book!
- Chris Mcgoughran, Palm Springs, Ca. USA
Give yourself time. The treatment is so ghastly that surviving it takes some getting used to.
Enjoy being here You have had a life changing experience, give yourself a break and see where it leads you
I am so very glad you gave it a whacking
- Amazonmothe, hasting
Wig or no wig, she's a great actress. She really had presence in the last Harry Potter film. You can't manufacture that on X Factor!
- Haskey, London SE1
