Judi Dench reveals the best way to compliment her: Call her āsubversiveā
Judi Dench loves a good surprise. Sheās cooking one up on this late autumn morning, her last day in Los Angeles promoting her new movie, āVictoria & Abdul,ā before returning home to London.
Denchās daughter, Finty Williams, an accomplished actress in her own right, thinks her mom is returning to England several days from now. But that would mean Dench would be missing Williamsā 45th birthday.
So Dench has concocted an elaborate ruse, having friends send her daughter pictures of her out and about in Los Angeles ā restaurant meals, āVictoria & Abdulā promotional events, Mom sitting in gardens and enjoying the sunshine ā all the way up to the night before her birthday. Meanwhile Dench will be lying low in London, waiting to walk into Williamsā house on the big day.
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āWeāve always done surprises in our house,ā Dench says, a twinkle in her eye. āFintyās very clever though. I hope Iāve fooled her.ā
With impeccable acting credentials that include long stints with Englandās Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre Company and a movie career spent playing more queens than she could possibly remember (she has now played Victoria twice, following an earlier turn in āMrs. Brownā), we tend to think of Dench as a commanding figure armed with perfect diction and an imposing manner, a woman not to be trifled with. (Ask 007.)
Whatās often forgotten amid all the accumulated majestic splendor is what Stephen Frears, Denchās director in five movies (including āMrs. Henderson Presents,ā āPhilomenaā and now āVictoria & Abdulā), calls her āmischievous and subversiveā qualities.
āOh, subversive,ā Dench purrs. āI rather like that. āSubversiveā is interesting, I should say.ā
Hereās an example: Last year, on the occasion of Denchās 81st birthday, Williams threw her mother a glorious dinner party, flying in all sorts of friends from the States. Shortly afterward, she took Dench out to lunch and after they finished, they were walking up St. Martinās Lane when Williams stopped in front of a tattoo parlor. She told her mum, āHere is your present if you like it. Do you want to tattoo?ā
āSure, Iāll have a tattoo,ā Dench responded without hesitation. And thatās how the words āCARPE DIEMā ā all caps, block type ā came to be engraved on the inside of Denchās right wrist.
Didnāt she have some hesitation about the pain from the needles?
āOh, nooooo,ā Dench says. āThere was somebody having their whole leg done right next to me. What am I going to say? āOw. Ow. Ow.āā
āBesides, if you can have a needle through your eye, I assure you, you can have a needle on your wrist,ā Dench adds.
Take note. In that last sentence, Dench acknowledges the invasive treatments she has endured due to macular degeneration, a disease that leads to irreversible vision loss, and sweeps it all away with standard British fortitude in the face of adversity.
āYou get on with it, donāt you?ā Dench says. Weāre sitting an armās length apart at a small table in a hotel lounge, having coffee. She notes she can only see the outline of my face.
āYou can adapt to anything quickly,ā she continues. āIf I had gone to bed one night able to read and then I was not able to read the next morning, that would be one thing. This was gradual, so I could adjust. I have a wonderful friend who reads to me. And I have everything blown up to 33-point size or something ⦠it looks ridiculous. It doesnāt matter. It works.ā
At about this point in the conversation, Frears, whoās staying at the same hotel, appears in the lounge. He pulls up a chair. Itās clear that Dench adores him. But even after making several films together, she is no closer to understanding Frears than when she met him 36 years ago, working on a BBC Playhouse movie, āGoing Gently.ā
āHeās monosyllabic, that one,ā Dench tells me before Frears arrives. āItās like squeezing something out of a stone, like trying to understand another language.ā Like learning how to speak Frears? āPrecisely. And once you learn to speak Frears, youāre OK. You sense him. And you trust him too.ā
āVictoria & Abdul,ā a drama about the unconventional friendship between Queen Victoria and the handsome Indian attendant Abdul Karim, is the latest example of the faith Dench has in Frears. Like āPhilomena,ā the film shifts between light comedy and serious examinations of class, power and religion. āItās a soufflĆ©,ā Frears says. āIt could collapse at any minute.ā
But that trust and affection doesnāt mean Dench doesnāt delight in needling Frears when itās called for. Noting his reputation for not saying much during interviews and post-screening Q&As supporting the film, Frears dryly remarks, āI hear Iām quite taciturn.ā
Denchās eyes widen at the comment. āTaciturn! There hasnāt been a word invented! āTaciturnā is quite voluble in terms of describing the real you.ā
Theyāre about to leave for the ArcLight Hollywood theater complex for a public event. Dench understands sheāll have to carry the conversation. āJudi,ā Frears says, half-smiling (which, for him, amounts to a Chesire grin), āweāre both given to understatement. Thatās why we get along.ā
āYou used to say a very nice thing about me,ā Frears continues. āYouād say that our movies were set up in such a way that by the time you turned up on set, you didnāt have to act, that the weight was lifted.ā
Thereās a long silence as Dench considers what Frears has passed off as a compliment.
āIt sounds like I come on rather late and just do it,ā she finally answers, her tone more teasing than perturbed.
Standing up, the rumpled Frears sighs. āWe are so frivolous,ā he says, taking his leave.
Dench looks across the table, her eyesight now seemingly laser-sharp.
āLook at that,ā she says, pointing to the cup he abandoned. āHe said that was the very best coffee heād ever had. And he didnāt drink half of it. You see what I mean? There hasnāt been a word yet invented to describe him.ā
Twitter: @glennwhipp
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