Dame Maggie Smith
Tom Cullen claims Dame Maggie Smith "doesn't take any bulls**t!"
The 'Downton Abbey' star found working with the iconic actress extremely nerve-wracking and says she is every bit as no-nonsense as her straight-talking character, Countess Victoria Crawley.
Tom - who has joined the ITV drama as Lord Tony Gillingham - told Attitude magazine: "I was really excited! But yeah, the idea of working with one of the greatest actors that has ever lived did make me nervous. I'm so new to acting, really, and she just delivers every line as if it's the greatest line that's ever been written.
"She's great. The thing about Maggie is, because she's been doing this for so long, she knows how to get the best out of a scene and she doesn't take any bulls**t."
The 28-year-old actor - who is set to appear as a "mysterious" friend of the Crawley family - claims he hit it off with the 78-year-old actress due to her "cutting and dry" sense of humour.
He explained: "At the same time, she's just the most humble woman and she's so, so funny. Honestly, Maggie makes me wee out of my eyes!
"Sometimes I've had to stop the take because she's cracked a joke before the camera started rolling and I'm still laughing through the scene! She's just brilliant."
Tom will feature in nine episodes when the period drama returns in September, and he insists his nerves about the big role will keep him humble.
He added: "I think that feeling a few nerves is probably healthy though, it means I'm not an a*****e."
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