December 31st 2023.
Dame Judi Dench, the beloved Oscar-winning actress, revealed her tradition for being prepared to be sacked. Despite her decades-long, successful career that has included films such as Shakespeare in Love, Iris, Mrs Brown, Notes on a Scandal, Philomena and Belfast, as well as seven films as James Bond’s boss M, Dame Judi still fears getting fired.
She made her professional debut with the Old Vic Company in 1957 and spent 20 years working for the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. When asked if she ever suffers from self-doubt, Dame Judi revealed: “Yes of course there have been moments. Whenever I arrive for rehearsals, I have to leave my bag nearest to the door so I can make a quick getaway in case they sack me.”
The 88-year-old star believes that the fear of losing a job “should never leave us”. She doesn’t take any of her jobs for granted, and even with her incredible success, which included winning an Oscar with under 6 minutes of screen time, she never stops striving for the best.
Dame Judi looks to find the pluses in life, which has become her “kind of mantra”. She finds small pleasures in everyday things, like her daughter Finty Williams being happy and enjoying her work, as well as her TikTok star grandson Sam Williams. The Quantum of Solace star admitted that her grandson calls her the “most childish person” he knows, and that he rings her up every day with a joke to make her laugh.
Despite her sight loss due to advanced macular degeneration, Dame Judi remains positive and looks for the silver linings in life. Even with the challenges of technology she faces, like not being able to see the buttons on her phone, she still manages to make the best of it. After all, it was her phone that accidentally FaceTimed her Bond co-star Ben Whishaw while she was in the bath!
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