Miss Betsey Trotwood Maggie Smith The aunt of David's father, Betsey storms out when his widow gives birth to a boy. Disliking men after a disastrous marriage, she is forced to reevaluate her views when David flees to her as a child. Formidable and eccentric, she has a true heart, deep loyalty, and a fierce sense of justice. The legendary Maggie Smith inspired the David Copperfield cast, encouraged the younger actors, thanked the makeup team with champagne, had the crew chortling with laughter during her scenes with Dawn French, and produced what will probably become the definitive portrayal of Aunt Betsey Trotwood. Smith has won two Oscars -- Best Actress for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Best Supporting Actress in California Suite -- and has been nominated for three others. David Copperfield is her first Dickens. "I have done very little television," she says. "So doing David Copperfield is odd because it follows straight on from another television film, Masterpiece Theatre's All the King's Men with David Jason." "David Copperfield is a magical story and I am very, very fond of Betsey ... Dickens, because he was so theatrical himself, always wrote good characters. Dickens's writing is so dense. So much detail." Smith joins Copperfield cast mates Daniel Radcliffe and Zoë Wanamaker in the highly anticipated film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in the role of Professor McGonagall.