Dame Judi Shows No Signs Of Stopping

Fame and Notoriety Came Late In Life For Award-Winning Actress, But Dench Keeps Going

(CBS) 
Not only had she found "it" — that indefinable quality that produces stardom — but "it" had found her. In her sixties, her life became a progression of big parts in the movies and on stage. It seemed there was nothing she couldn't do.

She remembers one morning walking down the street to a rehearsal. "Somebody came towards me and they kind of high-fived me. Well, it was such a nice thing to do, I was really pleased," she said.

Dench's name on the marquee came to have the most cherished quality in show business — you could take it to the bank. To whatever she does, she brings that most important ability: She makes it look easy.

"The whole nature of an actor is to persuade an audience that they are that person," Dench said. "And the audience can believe in you as a person, not see you. I don't want them to see me, Judi; I want them to see this person and believe in them. That's a very difficult thing about M. In one of the Bond films, I can't remember which one it is, I was put in a kind of jail, and I had to — to fiddle with a piece of machinery and get in touch with 007. My family were on the floor they were absolutely on the floor, everybody laughs — this is from the woman who can't put up the ironing board. She's going to save the world! They were hysterical. My job is to make you believe."

Some who know Dench say her recent flurry of work has happened since her husband Michael died six years ago.

"Since Michael died — I have always, thank God, kind of non-stopped worked, but moreso I think [since]," she said.

If it is a form of therapy, it works for both her and her audience. And thankfully for both, it doesn't seem about to stop.

"It's just luck, it really is, that's why I don't want to stop because if I stop I'm frightened that nobody will remember — I'm put in the garage, I'm not going to be able to be driven out any more, poor old thing run out of petrol," Dench said.

If the latest road tests are any indication, on the screen, or on the boards, there's still plenty of gas left in that tank.

"We're in a minority if we are doing a job that we really love and you can make a living at," she said. "I really do love it. I love it."

[Frisky1989]

Hi Everyone,
What a class act!

[catt42701]

Dame Judi has a wonderful face and is a wonderful actress. I've seen her in movies that simply shocked me that she was there. She can to anything and do it well.

[ttenchantr]

Hear, hear!

I'm a big fan of ATGB too! Not to slight PBS, but BBC America shows it every weekday at 1 PM Eastern.