Judi Dench Reflects on Theater, Her Career and Life Beyond the Actor’s Stage

A career rooted in theater

Dench made her stage debut in 1957 as Ophelia in “Hamlet” at London’s Old Vic Theatre. Her first leading film role came four decades later, in “Mrs. Brown,” but she says theater remains her deepest commitment.

She values the way a theater company can keep refining a show through repeated performances. Film, she noted, does not offer the same opportunity once a scene has been stopped and recorded. Dench said early criticism did not put her off acting, though she suspects it stayed with her in some way.

Film, awards and Bond stories

Dench has received eight Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love.” She also played M, the MI6 chief, in eight James Bond films, first appearing opposite Pierce Brosnan. Dench recalled that Brosnan recently visited her home and noticed a doormat bearing a message welcoming Mr. Bond. She said she had forgotten it was there, while Brosnan took it as a deliberate greeting. Dench described the responsibility of the Bond role as frightening.

A memoir built from conversation

O’Hea described Dench as generous, kind, funny and a mischief-maker, adding that these qualities could be seen in her childhood. He also pointed to her Quaker faith as part of what shaped her. Dench’s stories include memories of her late husband, actor Michael Williams, and of meeting Sidney Poitier.

Still carrying Shakespeare’s words

Dench says she can no longer accept acting roles because she cannot see. Yet when asked to demonstrate, she recited a passage from “Antony and Cleopatra” without faltering.

She has also said she does not think she has much vanity, and doubts that people feel awe when they meet her. Her account of being struck speechless by Sidney Poitier suggests she understands that feeling from the other side.