Considered by many to be one of the greatest actors of her generation, Oscar-nominee Judi Dench has announced that she’s taking a break from acting after the frenzy of work she undertook following her husband’s death.
Speaking to BBC chat show host Michael Parkinson, the actress said that it was time to face up to her loss. Her husband of 29 years, actor Michael Williams, died in January 2001. “I’m going to have a little bit of a rest and come face-to-face with it all,” the actress said in an interview broadcast on British television on Saturday night.
“I think I must do it and it’s time for me to do it now.” Judi has been nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the Alzheimer-stricken novelist Iris Murdoch – a role which has already won her a BAFTA award – in the biopic Iris. She already has a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her eight electrifying minutes in the 1998 movie Shakespeare In Love.
Since Michael’s death, the 67-year-old actress has devoted herself to work. Apart from Iris, she can currently be seen in the acclaimed film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Shipping News and will be appearing in the upcoming British production Therese Raquin.
Judi told Michael Parkinson that her workload was prompted by an impending strike rather than her husband’s death. “Because of the supposed strike at the end of June, those three films had to be made and I took an enormously deep breath,” Judi said. “My agent asked me if was I sure about it, with only one or two days between each thing, and crossing the Atlantic, and I said, ‘Yes absolutely’.”
Judi credited friends, including her The Shipping News co-star Kevin Spacey, who appeared with her on the Saturday evening chat show, with helping her “through the tricky weeks”. Judi is currently working on the third instalment of the Bond franchise, where she will reprise her role as the secret service chief “M”.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
