Judi Dench

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Between Christmas and anniversary gifts, my husband has racked up three different James Bond dvd sets, so we’ve been watching a lot of Bond lately. Bond. James Bond.

We watched Golden Eye last night with my favorite Bond - Pierce Brosnan. I thought the movie was great - all sorts of action and humor. It was apparently Judi Dench’s premiere as M - and I love myself some Judi Dench greatly. The acting was also really top notch in this one as well. Famke Janssen was hilariously evil in her role and Izabella Scorupco (as Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova) proved to be one of my favorite Bond Girls ever. As always, when I’m watching a movie that has people who interest me, I’ve done my homework and have come up with some interesting tidbits about Izabella:

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* Izabella was born in 1970 in Poland. She moved to Sweden at a very young age with her mother.

* Not surprisingly, Izabella worked as a model in Sweden.

* She speaks four languages.

* Izabella was also a pop singer in Sweden and even had a couple of hits.

* She has a daughter with ex-husband, hockey player Mariusz Czerkawski.

* She also has a son with her current husband.

* Izabella claims that when she was working for Ford Modeling, she went without food for 4 months, using water as her only nourishment.

* Was offered the lead female role in L.A. Confidential (1997), but turned it down. The role went to Kim Basinger.

* Was offered the lead female role in The Mask of Zorro (1998), but turned it down. The role went to Catherine Zeta-Jones. (Picking roles may not be her strength.)

* She’s 5′9″ and her nickname’s Iza.

Here’s some interesting information I rounded up about the spectacular Judi Dench:

• Judi Dench was born on December 9, 1934 in York, North Yorkshire, England.
• When Royal Shakespeare Company Director Peter Hall asked Judi Dench to play the title role in a staged,
  (and later televised) production of Cleopatra, Dench refused. She was quoted as saying that her Cleopatra would be a “menopausal dwarf.” He persistantly wooed her and was later successful in coaxing Dench into the role. She won rave reviews from both theatre critics and TV audiences.
• She made history in 1996 as the first person to win two Laurence Olivier awards (for British theatre) for different roles.
• Her 1999 Oscar was awarded for an eight minute performance in only four scenes as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998). It’s the second shortest performance EVER to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The only shorter performance to be awarded the Oscar went to Beatrice Straight for her six minute performance in Network (1976).
• Judi Dench and her late husband, actor Michael Williams have a daughter named Finty, also in the acting profession. Finty appeared in, among other things, The Importance of Being Earnest.
• After her husband’s death from lung cancer in 2001, Judi said in an interview that she felt “lopsided” without the man who sent her a red rose each Friday during their marriage.
• She was to play “Grizabella” in the original “CATS” West End production, but an ailment forced her out of the play. Elaine Paige, who went on to ridiculous success in the role, replaced her.
• She told an interviewer, once, that at award ceremonies, she, Michael, and Finty (Pictured below) would spend the evening, “…nudging each other and star-spotting”.
• She recently won rave reviews for one of her best performances ever, as the obsessed villain Barbara Covett, alongside Cate Blanchett (pictured together above) in Notes on a Scandal. It isn’t a stretch to call this type of role the “role of a lifetime,” and she didn’t just seize the opportunity - she seized the hell out of it.

You can call her Dame Judi Dench. You can call her Judi Dench. You can call her one of the most underrated and underappreciated actresses in the world. But most of all you can call her one of the best, most elegant, talented, and classy actresses to ever grab a script.

If you aren’t familiar with the name, I guarantee you know the lady’s work.

Her Filmography (courtesy of IMDB.com):

Bond 22 (2008) (pre-production) …. M

Notes on a Scandal (2006) …. Barbara Covett
Casino Royale (2006) …. M
… aka Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale (USA: complete title)
Doogal (2006) (voice) …. Narrator
“As Time Goes By” …. Jean Hardcastle / … (67 episodes, 1992-2005)
- Reunion Special: Part 2 (2005) TV Episode …. Jean Hardcastle
- Reunion Special: Part 1 (2005) TV Episode …. Jean Hardcastle
- You Must Remember This… (2002) TV Episode …. Jean Hardcastle
- What Now? (2002) TV Episode …. Jean Hardcastle
- The Wedding (2002) TV Episode …. Jean Hardcastle
(62 more)
Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) …. Mrs. Laura Henderson
… aka Mrs Henderson Presents (USA)
Pride & Prejudice (2005) …. Lady Catherine de Bourg
… aka Orgueil et préjugés (France)
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) (VG) (voice) …. M
A Dairy Tale (2004) (V) (voice) …. Mrs. Caloway
Ladies in Lavender. (2004) …. Ursula Widdington
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) …. Aereon
… aka The Chronicles of Riddick: The Director’s Cut (USA: director’s cut)
Home on the Range (2004) (voice) …. Mrs. Calloway
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2003) (VG) (voice) …. M
… aka Everything or Nothing (USA: short title)
Die Another Day (2002) …. M
… aka D.A.D. (USA: promotional abbreviation)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) …. Lady Bracknell
… aka Importance d’être constant, L’ (France)
The Shipping News (2001) …. Agnis Hamm
… aka Noeuds et dénouements (Canada: French title)
Iris (2001/I) …. Iris Murdoch
“Angelina Ballerina” (2001) TV Series (voice) …. Miss Lilly
Chocolat (2000) …. Armande Voizin
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV) …. Elizabeth

The World Is Not Enough (1999) …. M
… aka T.W.I.N.E. (UK: promotional abbreviation)
Tea with Mussolini (1999) …. Arabella
… aka Te con Mussolini, Un (Italy)
Shakespeare in Love (1998) …. Queen Elizabeth
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) …. M
Mrs. Brown (1997) …. Queen Victoria
… aka Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown (USA)
… aka Mrs Brown (USA)
Hamlet (1996) …. Hecuba
… aka William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
GoldenEye (1995) …. M
Jack & Sarah (1995) …. Margaret
“Middlemarch” (1994) (mini) TV Series …. Voice of George Eliot
“The Torch” (1992) (mini) TV Series …. Aba
Absolute Hell (1991) (TV) …. Christine Foskett
Can You Hear Me Thinking? (1990) (TV) …. Anne

Henry V (1989) …. Mistress Quickly
“Behaving Badly” (1989) (mini) TV Series …. Bridget Mayor
A Handful of Dust (1988) …. Mrs. Beaver
84 Charing Cross Road (1987) …. Nora Doel
Ghosts (1986) (TV) …. Mrs. Alving
A Room with a View (1985) …. In Florence - Eleanor Lavish, a novelist
Wetherby (1985) …. Marcia Pilborough
The Browning Version (1985) (TV) …. Millie Crocker-Harris
Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (1985) (TV) …. Dorrie Edgehill
… aka Star Quality: Mr. and Mrs. Edgehill (UK)
The Angelic Conversation (1985) …. Narrator
“A Fine Romance” …. Laura Dalton (26 episodes, 1981-1984)
- Happy Ever After? (1984) TV Episode …. Laura Dalton
- A Romantic Meal (1984) TV Episode …. Laura Dalton
- Problems (1984) TV Episode …. Laura Dalton
- A Weekend Away (1984) TV Episode …. Laura Dalton
- Mike’s New Girlfriend (1984) TV Episode …. Laura Dalton
(21 more)
Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983) (TV) …. Barbara Dean
“BBC2 Playhouse” …. Sister Scarli (1 episode, 1981)
- Going Gently (1981) TV Episode …. Sister Scarli
“Love in a Cold Climate” (1980) (mini) TV Series …. Aunt Sadie (Lady Alconleigh)
The Cherry Orchard (1980) (TV) …. Madame Ranevskaya

“BBC2 Play of the Week” …. Hazel Wiles / … (2 episodes, 1978-1979)
- On Giant’s Shoulders (1979) TV Episode …. Hazel Wiles
- Langrishe Go Down (1978) TV Episode …. Imogen Langrishe
Macbeth (1979) (TV) …. Lady Macbeth
The Comedy of Errors (1978/I) (TV) …. Adriana
“Jackanory” …. Storyteller / … (12 episodes, 1968-1978)
- A Dog So Small (1978) TV Episode …. Reader
- My Sister Sophie/The Vicious Woman (1968) TV Episode …. Storyteller - ‘My Sister Sophie’
- Chi Ming: Chi Ming and That Dragon Boat Race (1968) TV Episode …. Storyteller
- Chi Ming: Chi Ming Moves House (1968) TV Episode …. Storyteller
- Chi Ming: Chi Ming and the Jade Earring (1968) TV Episode …. Storyteller
(7 more)
Dead Cert (1974) …. Laura Davidson
Luther (1973) …. Katherine

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1968) …. Titania
“Play of the Month” …. Elizebeth Moris (1 episode, 1966)
- Days to Come (1966) TV Episode …. Elizebeth Moris
“Talking to a Stranger” (1966) (mini) TV Series …. Terry Stevens - Daughter
He Who Rides a Tiger (1965) …. Joanne
A Study in Terror (1965) …. Sally
… aka Fog
“The Troubleshooters” …. Gwyneth Evans (1 episode, 1965)
… aka Mogul (USA)
- Safety Man (1965) TV Episode …. Gwyneth Evans
Four in the Morning (1965) …. Wife
“Detective” …. Charlotte Revel (1 episode, 1964)
- Dishonoured Bones (1964) TV Episode …. Charlotte Revel
The Third Secret (1964) …. Miss Humphries
“Z Cars” …. Elena Collins (1 episode, 1963)
- Made for Each Other (1963) TV Episode …. Elena Collins
“The Four Just Men” …. Anna (1 episode, 1960)
- Treviso Dam (1960) TV Episode …. Anna
“An Age of Kings” (1960) (mini) TV Series …. Princess Katherine

Hilda Lessways (1959) (TV) …. Hilda Lessways

Her filmography leaves little room for anything else, doesn’t it?! I’ll give you her very interesting biography and some pretty cool Did You Know?’s in the next post.