Dame Judi Dench has opened up about the challenges she faces due to her health conditions but insists she still wants to work as much she can.
The Oscar-winning actress has been one of the titans of the British acting industry for decades but, in recent years, her work has slowed due to ongoing health complications.
In 2012, she was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and she was also forced to give up driving due to her deteriorating eyesight. In an interview with The Daily Mirror's Notebook magazine, Dench opened up about these difficulties.
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In particular, Dench said that she's having trouble learning lines for projects due to her eye condition, which leaves her barely able to see. Still, she insists she wants to work "as much as [she] can."
"I mean I can’t see on a film set anymore. And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But, you know, you just deal with it. Get on," Dench said.
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"It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”
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Amongst her many roles, Dench is best known in the mainstream for her role as M in the Bond movies. She is also best known for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love, which won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1999.
However, she recently spoke out against another project that depicts the royal family — Netflix's The Crown. Last October, she called the show "crude sensationalism."
"The closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely art seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism," Dench said.
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Jacob is a freelance writer who specialises in narrative TV and film.
He graduated from the University of Roehampton with an MA in Journalism and has written for several publications since, including Gold Derby, Insider, and Screen Daily.
Jacob has covered major events in the world of film and TV, including numerous BAFTA ceremonies and the Cannes Film Festival, while he's also been an awards expert for several publications, including Korea's Arirang. His particular areas of interest include Star Wars, the MCU, the Oscars, and Hugh Grant.
