Dame Judi Dench, one of the most celebrated actors of her generation, says her eyesight has deteriorated to the point that she can no longer perform. In a candid interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the 91-year-old said the eye condition she has lived with for more than a decade has taken away her ability to work on stage and screen, and even to read.
“I can’t be on stage. I can’t do a play anymore. I can’t do a film anymore. I can’t read anymore,” Dench told presenter Emma Barnett, as reported by BBC News.
Living with macular degeneration
Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration, often shortened to AMD, in 2012. The condition affects the macula, the part of the retina responsible for sharp central vision, which is the vision we rely on to read, recognize faces and see fine detail.
She has spoken publicly about her sight for years, describing difficulty seeing on film sets and learning scripts. In the new interview, she said the condition now makes it very hard to recognize faces, which can lead to some awkward moments. She admitted she sometimes approaches the wrong people “and give them an almost hug” before realizing her mistake.
Asked about getting older, Dench was characteristically dry: “There’s nothing to say for it at all. [I] don’t think about it too much.”
A career spanning more than seven decades
Dench’s career has stretched across theatre, television and film for more than 70 years. She won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in “Shakespeare in Love,” and became recognized around the world as “M,” James Bond’s boss, a role she first played in “GoldenEye” in 1995. She was the first woman to play the part.
Her reach goes far beyond those roles, from decades of Shakespeare on the stage to beloved British television comedies. That body of work is why the news that she can no longer perform landed so heavily with fans.
Stories from a remarkable life
The interview was not all about loss. Dench shared a string of memorable anecdotes, including being invited to lunch by former MI6 chief Sir David Spedding. When she asked where her driver should drop her off, she was told the agency would send a car to pick her up. She ended up arriving around 20 minutes late because the driver could not find her house, a detail she clearly relished retelling: “I loved it.”
When asked who should be the next James Bond, she gave a one-word answer: “no.”
She also recalled meeting Sidney Poitier when he came backstage while she was appearing in “Amy’s View” in New York. Asked what she said to him, she replied, “Not much, a bit of an open mouth. So charming. Very tall.”
Still besotted with Shakespeare
Dench traced her lifelong love of Shakespeare to watching her brother play King Duncan in “Macbeth” when she was nine. She said hearing him deliver the line “What bloody man is that?” made her think the theatre was for her.
Even now, she told the BBC, she is “besotted” by Shakespeare’s sonnets. “It’s the rhythm of it. It’s the rhythm of your heart,” she said, adding that the poet “summed up so simply the way that any of us feel about, well, anything.” The Guardian also highlighted her enduring passion for the sonnets in its coverage of the interview.
She has also said that radio has always been important to her, and she continues to make public appearances and speak openly about adapting to life with failing vision.
Why her openness matters
AMD is one of the most common causes of vision loss in older adults. When someone as well known as Dench talks plainly about what it is like, from mistaking strangers for friends to no longer being able to read a script, it helps others living with sight loss feel seen, and it encourages conversations about the condition. Anyone with concerns about changes in their own vision should talk to an eye care professional.
The wrap-up
Judi Dench may no longer be able to step onto a stage or a film set, but her wit, her stories and her love of Shakespeare are fully intact. For audiences who grew up with her performances, this interview was both a sad goodbye to new roles and a reminder of why she has been so cherished for so long.
Image: Red curtain via Rawpixel, CC0 1.0
