February 11, 2009 9:12 PM
- Text
Judi Dench: I Can Fool People
(CBS)
She's booked up through next year and has won five major acting awards in as many years, yet Dame Judi Dench fears each role could be her last.
The Academy-Award winning actress expresses these fears to correspondent Ed Bradley in a 60 Minutes profile to be broadcast Sunday.
Dench's Oscar, Tony and Golden Globes –- plus all the British accolades she's received -- don't guarantee a 67-year-old actress more plum roles, she believes. "[Winning awards counts] if you're [in your] 20s and 30s and perhaps early 40s," she tells Bradley, "But after that, it becomes difficult to cast you."
Dench acknowledges that her fear of no future roles could be just the fuel that drives her great performances.
"Perhaps I need that kind of terrible fear to be pushed right to the edge in order to fall off. Who knows?" she says. Dench won her Oscar as best supporting actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love." She's also appeared in the hit films, "Mrs. Brown" and "Chocolat" and stars in the current "Iris," about a writer's descent into Alzheimer's. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for that role.
But for Dench, the stage is where her talent really shows. "I can make the audience believe that I am not…like I am as a real person…I can fool people," she tells Bradley, "but on film – tricky."
The Academy-Award winning actress expresses these fears to correspondent Ed Bradley in a 60 Minutes profile to be broadcast Sunday.
Dench's Oscar, Tony and Golden Globes –- plus all the British accolades she's received -- don't guarantee a 67-year-old actress more plum roles, she believes. "[Winning awards counts] if you're [in your] 20s and 30s and perhaps early 40s," she tells Bradley, "But after that, it becomes difficult to cast you."
Dench acknowledges that her fear of no future roles could be just the fuel that drives her great performances.
"Perhaps I need that kind of terrible fear to be pushed right to the edge in order to fall off. Who knows?" she says. Dench won her Oscar as best supporting actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love." She's also appeared in the hit films, "Mrs. Brown" and "Chocolat" and stars in the current "Iris," about a writer's descent into Alzheimer's. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for that role.
But for Dench, the stage is where her talent really shows. "I can make the audience believe that I am not…like I am as a real person…I can fool people," she tells Bradley, "but on film – tricky."
Popular Now in 60 Minutes
- Adele opens up about vocal cord surgery
- "60 Minutes" Presents: Three Remarkable Women
- The Pope and his Jewish maestro
- Helen Mirren talks nudity and her career
- The Debate On Lowering The Drinking Age
- Can hunting endangered animals save the species?
- The secret behind the hit TV car show "Top Gear"
- Katharine Hepburn at her best
- Lara Logan breaks silence on Cairo assault
- Freeman On Black History
- Defense Secretary, NFL Commissioner, Big Game Hunting
- Classic Morley Safer interviews on "60 Minutes"
- Jake: Math prodigy proud of his autism
- The NFL Commissioner: Roger Goodell
- The ascent of Alex Honnold
- Meryl's men: How does she feel about her co-stars?
- The Defense Secretary: Leon Panetta
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook
on CBS News
- Civilians bear the brunt of Syrian assault
- Spirit challenges American in the heart of Texas
- Mexico's America Movil profit down 36.2 pct in 4Q
- County commissioners face decision on drilling fee
on Facebook
- Adele opens up about vocal cord surgery
- Tenn. father charged with murdering couple who"unfriended" daughter on Facebook
- Mo. teen gets life in prison for murder of 9-year-old girl
on CBS News





