Judi Dench, 91, Says Worsening Eyesight Means She Can No Longer Act: No Play, No Film, No Reading
LONDON, United Kingdom — British actress Judi Dench, 91, said her eyesight had deteriorated to the point that she could no longer act on stage or in films, or read. According to Reuters, Dench, who has had age-related macular degeneration for more than a decade, made the remarks in an interview with BBC Radio 4 on October 22.
"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," she told BBC Radio. "So you've got to adjust to all that, and make allowances for it and just get on and don't think about it too much." She said she could no longer recognise faces, meaning she often nearly hugged strangers, mistaking them for people she knew.
Dench has had a seven-decade career on stage, film and television, winning an Oscar, a Tony and seven Laurence Olivier Awards, and she appeared as M in eight James Bond films. She has played many of Shakespeare's major roles, including Juliet, Lady Macbeth and Cleopatra, and spoke of her enduring love for his poetry: "I am besotted by the sonnets, I just love them."
Reflecting on her career, Dench said she had taken risks in choosing roles, adding that performing was always a daunting experience. "For me, always frightening, but that's part of it," she said. "It's part of what that fear generates, an energy that you can use up, use the energy. It's always 'work in progress', always."
Published reports say Dench's memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, co-written with theatre director Brendan O'Hea, is due to be published on November 3.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：朱迪·丹奇2023年3月在伦敦 Palladium 剧院（Raph_PH 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0）
