Maggie Smith: Fears to return to stage after cancer battle

Maggie Smith: Fears to return to stage after cancer battle

Double Oscar winner British actress, Maggie Smith, is scared to return to the stage again after suffering breast cancer, which left her bald during filming of the last Potter movie.

The 74 year old Maggie Smith, who played Professor Minerva McGonagall in "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince", was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 but made a full recovery.

In an interview with Times newspaper, Smith said that she was "knocked sideways" and now lacked confidence to go back to the theatre.

The British actress said, "It leaves you so flattened. I'm frightened to work in the theatre now. I feel very uncertain".

The actress also knew that she will have to "stagger through" filming of the final Potter movie, "The Deathly Hallows", in which she will play the role of Professor McGonagall.

Smith described how she managed to go ahead with filming of "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince". She said, "I was hairless. I had no problem getting the wig on. I was like a boiled egg".

While describing the last couple of years as a write-off, Smith said that she began to feel like a person now. She said, "My energy is coming back. Shit happens. I ought to pull myself together a bit".

Maggie Smith has won numerous awards for acting, including five BAFTA Awards, two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Emmy Award and a Tony Award. She won Academy Awards for her roles in "California Suite" (1978) and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" (1969).