JAMES BOND - SKYFALL - DAME JUDI DENCH as M - Personally Signed Autograph Card

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JAMES BOND - SKYFALL - Dame Judi Dench as "M" - Autograph Card - Rittenhouse Archives 2013. 

Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH, DBE, FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years, she performed in several of Shakespeare's plays, in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet , Juliet in Romeo and Juliet , and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth . Although most of her work during this period was in theatre, she also branched into film work and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer. She drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical Cabaret in 1968.

Over the next two decades, Dench established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She received critical praise in television during this period, in the series A Fine Romance from 1981 until 1984, and As Time Goes By from 1992 until 2005, in which she held a starring role. Her film appearances were infrequent, and included supporting roles in major films, such as A Room with a View (1986), before she rose to international fame as M in GoldenEye (1995), a role she continued to play in James Bond films until Spectre (2015).

A seven-time Oscar nominee, Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1998), and has received nominations for her roles in Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), and Philomena (2013). She has also received many other accolades for her acting in theatre, film, and television; her other competitive awards include six British Academy Film Awards, four BAFTA TV Awards, seven Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She has also received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2001, and the Special Olivier Award in 2004. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI). Dench is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

Early life

Dench was born in Heworth, North Riding of Yorkshire. Her mother, Eleanora Olive (née Jones), was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor, was born in Dorset, England, and later moved to Dublin, where he was brought up. He met Dench's mother while he was studying medicine at Trinity College, Dublin.

Dench attended the Mount School, a Quaker independent secondary school in York, and became a Quaker. Her brothers, one of whom was actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Her niece, Emma Dench, is a historian of ancient Rome and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University.

Career

In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actor.

Early work

Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre. Her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York theatre, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress. Actors often stayed in the Dench household. During these years, Judi Dench was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in 1951, 1954 and 1957. In the third production she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in drama school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. She applied and was accepted by the School, then based at the Royal Albert Hall, London, where she was a classmate of Vanessa Redgrave, graduating and being awarded four acting prizes, including the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.

In September 1957, she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in Hamlet . According to the reviewer for London Evening Standard , Dench had "talent which will be shown to better advantage when she acquires some technique to go with it." Dench then made her London debut in the same production at the Old Vic. She remained a member of the company for four seasons, 1957–1961, her roles including Katherine in Henry V in 1958, (which was also her New York City debut), and as directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli. During this period, she toured the United States and Canada and appeared in Yugoslavia and at the Edinburgh Festival. She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 1961, playing Anya in The Cherry Orchard at the Aldwych Theatre in London and made her Stratford-upon-Avon debut in April 1962 as Isabella in Measure for Measure . She subsequently spent seasons in repertory both with the Playhouse in Nottingham from January 1963, (including a West African tour as Lady Macbeth for the British Council) and with the Playhouse Company in Oxford from April 1964.

In 1964, Dench appeared on television as Valentine Wannop in Theatre 625's adaptation of Parade's End, shown in three episodes. That same year, she made her film debut in The Third Secret , before featuring in a small role in the Sherlock Holmes thriller A Study in Terror (1965) with her Nottingham Playhouse colleague John Neville. She performed again on BBC's Theatre 365 in 1966, as Terry in the four-part series Talking to a Stranger, for which she won a BAFTA Television for Best Actress.

Prominence

The 1966 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles was made to Dench for her performance in Four in the Morning and this was followed in 1968 by a BAFTA Television Best Actress Award for her role in John Hopkins' 1966 BBC drama Talking to a Stranger .

In 1968, she was offered the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret . As Sheridan Morley later reported: "At first she thought they were joking. She had never done a musical and she has an unusual croaky voice which sounds as if she has a permanent cold. So frightened was she of singing in public that she auditioned from the wings, leaving the pianists alone on stage". But when it opened at the Palace Theatre in February 1968, Frank Marcus, reviewing for Plays and Players , commented that: "She sings well. The title song, in particular, is projected with great feeling."

After a long run in Cabaret , she rejoined the RSC making numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London for nearly twenty years, winning several "best actress" awards. Among her roles with the RSC, she was the Duchess in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi in 1971. In the Stratford 1976 season, and then at the Aldwych in 1977, she gave two comedy performances, first in Trevor Nunn's musical staging of The Comedy of Errors as Adriana, then partnered with Donald Sinden as Beatrice and Benedick in John Barton's "British Raj" revival of Much Ado About Nothing . As Bernard Levin wrote in The Sunday Times : "...demonstrating once more that she is a comic actress of consummate skill, perhaps the very best we have." One of her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of Macbeth was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is", wrote Michael Billington in The Guardian . "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation", commented J C Trewin in The Lady . The production transferred to London, opening at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1977, and was adapted for television, later released on VHS and DVD. Dench won the SWET Best Actress Award in 1977.

Dench was nominated for a BAFTA for her role as Hazel Wiles in the 1979 BBC drama On Giant's Shoulders . In 1989, she was cast as Pru Forrest, the long-time silent wife of Tom Forrest, in the BBC soap opera The Archers on its 10,000th edition. She had a romantic role in the BBC television film Langrishe, Go Down (1978), with Jeremy Irons and a screenplay by Harold Pinter from the Aidan Higgins novel, directed by David Jones, in which she played one of three spinster sisters living in a fading Irish mansion in the Waterford countryside. Dench made her debut as a director in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road , co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three-month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Dench's contribution was a staging of Much Ado About Nothing , set in the Napoleonic era, which starred Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson as Benedick and Beatrice. She has made numerous appearances in the West End including the role of Miss Trant in the 1974 musical version of The Good Companions at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1981, Dench was due to play Grizabella in the original production of Cats , but was forced to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving Elaine Paige to play the role. She has acted with the National Theatre in London where she played an unforgettable Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (1987). In September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music , for which she won an Olivier Award.

In 1989, Judi Dench starred in David Tucker's Behaving Badly for Channel 4, based on Catherine Heath's novel of the same name.

Popular success

After the long period between James Bond films Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995), the producers brought in Dench to take over as the role of M, James Bond's boss. The character was reportedly modeled on Dame Stella Rimington, the real-life head of MI5 between 1992 and 1996; Dench became the first woman to portray M, succeeding Robert Brown. The seventeenth spy film in the series and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 officer, GoldenEye marked the first Bond film made after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided the plot's back story. The film earned a worldwide gross of US$350.7 million, with critics viewing the film as a modernisation of the series.

In 1997, Dench appeared in her first starring film role as Queen Victoria in John Madden's teleplay Mrs Brown , which depicts Victoria's relationship with her personal servant and favourite John Brown, played by Billy Connolly. Filmed with the intention of being shown on BBC One and on WGBH's Masterpiece Theatre , it was eventually acquired by Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein, who felt the drama film should receive a theatrical release after seeing it and took it from the BBC to US cinemas. Released to generally positive reviews and unexpected commercial success, going on to earn more than $13 million worldwide, the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. For her performance, Dench garnered universal acclaim by critics and was awarded her fourth BAFTA and first Best Actress nomination at the 70th Academy Awards. In 2011, while accepting a British Film Institute Award in London, Dench commented that the project launched her Hollywood career and joked that "it was thanks to Harvey, whose name I have had tattooed on my bum".

Dench's other film of 1997 was Roger Spottiswoode's Tomorrow Never Dies , her second film in the James Bond series. The same year, Dench reteamed with director John Madden to film Shakespeare in Love (1998), a romantic comedy-drama that depicts a love affair involving playwright William Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes, while he was writing the play Romeo and Juliet . On her performance as Queen Elizabeth I, The New York Times commented that "Dench's shrewd, daunting Elizabeth is one of the film's utmost treats". The following year, she was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, winning both the Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. On her Oscar win, Dench joked on-stage, "I feel for eight minutes on the screen, I should only get a little bit of him."

Also in 1999, Dench won the Tony Award for her 1999 Broadway performance in the role of Esme Allen in Sir David Hare's Amy's View . The same year, she co-starred along with Cher, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, and Lily Tomlin in Franco Zeffirelli's semi-autobiographical period drama Tea with Mussolini which tells the story of young Italian boy Luca's upbringing by a circle of British and American women, before and during World War II. 1999 also saw the release of Pierce Brosnan's third Bond film, The World Is Not Enough . This film portrayed M in a larger role with the main villain, Renard, coming back to haunt her when he engineers the murder of her old friend Sir Robert King and seemingly attempts to kill his daughter Electra.

2001–2005

In January 2001, Dench's husband Michael Williams died from lung cancer. Dench went to Nova Scotia, Canada, almost immediately after Williams's funeral to begin production on Lasse Hallström's drama film The Shipping News , a therapy she later credited as her rescue: "People, friends, kept saying, 'You are not facing up to it; you need to face up to it', and maybe they were right, but I felt I was – in the acting. Grief supplies you with an enormous amount of energy. I needed to use that up." In between, Dench finished work on Richard Eyre's film Iris (2001), in which she portrayed novelist Iris Murdoch. Dench shared her role with Kate Winslet, both actresses portraying Murdoch at different phases of her life. Each of them was nominated for an Oscar the following year, earning Dench her fourth nomination within five years. In addition, she was awarded both an ALFS Award and the Best Leading Actress Award at the 55th British Academy Film Awards.

Following Iris , Dench immediately returned to Canada to finish The Shipping News alongside Kevin Spacey and Julianne Moore. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx, the drama revolves around a quiet and introspective typesetter (Spacey) who, after the death of his daughter's mother, moves to Newfoundland along with his daughter and his aunt, played by Dench, in hopes of starting his life anew in the small town where she grew up. The film earned mixed reviews from critics, and was financially unsuccessful, taking in just US$24 million worldwide with a budget of US$35 million. Dench received BAFTA and SAG Award nominations for her performance.

In 2002, Dench was cast opposite Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, and Reese Witherspoon in Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest , a comedy about mistaken identity set in English high society during the Victorian Era. Based on Oscar Wilde's classic comedy of manners of the same name, she portrayed Lady Bracknell, a role she had repeatedly played before, including a stint at the Royal National Theatre in 1982. The film was released to lukewarm reactions by critics – who called it "breezy entertainment, helped by an impressive cast", but felt that it also suffered "from some peculiar directorial choices" – and earned just US$17.3 million during its limited release. Dench's other film of 2002 was Die Another Day , the twentieth installment in the James Bond series. The Lee Tamahori–directed spy film marked her fourth appearance as MI6 head M and the franchise's last performance by Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Die Another Day received mixed reviews  Regardless, it became the highest-grossing James Bond film up to that time. In the 2002 animated children's series Angelina Ballerina , Dench lent her voice to Miss Lilly, Angelina's ballet teacher. Her daughter, Finty Williams, provided the voice of Angelina herself.

In 2004, Dench appeared as Aereon, an ambassador of the Elemental race who helps uncover the mysterious past of Richard B. Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, in David Twohy's science fiction sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick . Selected by Diesel, who prompted writers to re-create the character to fit a female persona because he wanted to work with the actress, she called filming "tremendous fun", although she "had absolutely no idea what was going on in the plot". The film was a critical and box office failure. In his review of the film, James Berardinelli from ReelViews remarked that he felt that Dench's character served no more "useful purpose than to give her an opportunity to appear in a science-fiction movie".

She followed Riddick with a more traditional role in Charles Dance's English drama Ladies in Lavender , also starring friend Maggie Smith. In the film, Dench plays one half of a sister duo and takes it upon herself to nurse a washed up stranger to health, eventually finding herself falling for a man many decades younger than she. The specialty release garnered positive reviews from critics, with Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times calling it "perfectly sweet and civilized and a pleasure to watch Smith and Dench together; their acting is so natural it could be breathing". Also in 2004, Dench provided her voice for several smaller projects. In Walt Disney's Home on the Range , she, along with Roseanne Barr and Jennifer Tilly, voiced a mismatched trio of dairy cows who must capture an infamous cattle rustler, for his bounty, in order to save their idyllic farm from foreclosure. The film was mildly successful for Disney.

A major hit for Dench came with Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice , a 2005 adaptation of the novel by Jane Austen, starring Keira Knightley and Donald Sutherland. Wright persuaded Dench to join the cast as Lady Catherine de Bourgh by writing her a letter that read: "I love it when you play a bitch. Please come and be a bitch for me." Dench had only one week available to shoot her scenes, forcing Wright to make them his first days of filming. With both a worldwide gross of over US$121 million and several Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, the film became a critical and commercial success.

2006–2010

Dench, in her role as "M", was the only cast member carried through from the Brosnan films to appear in Casino Royale (2006), Martin Campbell's reboot of the James Bond film series, starring Daniel Craig in his debut performance as the fictional MI6 agent. The thriller received largely positive critical response, with reviewers highlighting Craig's performance and the reinvention of the character of Bond. It earned over US$594 million worldwide, ranking it among the highest-grossing James Bond films ever released.

In April 2006, Dench returned to the West End stage in Hay Fever alongside Peter Bowles and Belinda Lang. She finished off 2006 with the role of Mistress Quickly in the RSC's new musical The Merry Wives , a version of The Merry Wives of Windsor .

Dench appeared opposite Cate Blanchett as a London teacher with a dedicated fondness for vulnerable women in Richard Eyre's 2006 drama film Notes on a Scandal , an adaption from the 2003 novel of the same name by Zoë Heller. A fan of Heller's book, Dench "was thrilled to be asked to ... play that woman, to try to find a humanity in that dreadful person". The specialty film opened to generally positive reviews and commercial success, grossing US$50 million worldwide, exceeding its £15 million budget. In his review for Chicago Sun-Times , film critic Roger Ebert declared the main actresses "perhaps the most impressive acting duo in any film of 2006. Dench and Blanchett are magnificent." The following year, Dench earned her sixth Academy nomination and went on to win a BIFA Award and an Evening Standard Award.

Dench, as Miss Matty Jenkyns, co-starred with Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, and Francesca Annis in the BBC One five-part series Cranford . The first season of the series began transmission in November 2007.

Dench became the voice for the narration for the updated Walt Disney World Epcot attraction Spaceship Earth in February 2008. The same month, she was named as the first official patron of the York Youth Mysteries 2008, a project to allow young people to explore the York Mystery Plays through dance, film-making and circus. Her only film of 2008 was Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace , the twenty-second Eon-produced James Bond film, in which she reprised her role as M along with Daniel Craig. A direct sequel to the 2006 film Casino Royale , Forster felt Dench was underused in the previous films, and wanted to make her part bigger, having her interact with Bond more. The project gathered generally mixed reviews by critics, who mainly felt that Quantum of Solace was not as impressive as the predecessor Casino Royale , but became another hit for the franchise with a worldwide gross of US$591 million. For her performance, Dench was nominated for a Saturn Award the following year.

Dench returned to the West End in mid-2009, playing Madame de Montreuil in Yukio Mishima's play Madame de Sade , directed by Michael Grandage as part of the Donmar season at Wyndham's Theatre. The same year, she appeared in Sally Potter's experimental film Rage , a project that featured 14 actors playing fictional figures in and around the fashion world, giving monologues before a plain backdrop. Attracted to the fact that it was unlike anything she had done before, Dench welcomed the opportunity to work with Potter. "I like to do something that's not expected, or predictable. I had to learn to smoke a joint, and I set my trousers alight", she said about filming. Her next film was Rob Marshall's musical film Nine , based on Arthur Kopit's book for the 1982 musical of the same name, itself suggested by Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film 8½ . Also starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, and Sophia Loren, she played Lilli La Fleur, an eccentric but motherly French costume designer, who performs the song "Folies Bergères" in the film. Despite mixed to negative reviews, Nine was nominated for four Academy Awards, and awarded both the Satellite Award for Best Film and Best Cast.

Also in 2009, Dench reprised the role of Matilda Jenkyns in Return to Cranford , the two-part second season of a Simon Curtis television series. Critically acclaimed, Dench was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Satellite Award. In 2010, she renewed her collaboration with Peter Hall at the Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames in A Midsummer Night's Dream , which opened in February 2010; she played Titania as Queen Elizabeth I in her later years – almost 50 years after she first played the role for the Royal Shakespeare Company. In July 2010, Dench performed "Send in the Clowns" at a special celebratory promenade concert from the Royal Albert Hall as part of the proms season, in honour of composer Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday.

2011–2014

In 2011, Dench starred in Jane Eyre , My Week with Marilyn and J. Edgar . In Cary Joji Fukunaga's period drama Jane Eyre , based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë, she played the role of Alice Fairfax, housekeeper to Rochester, the aloof and brooding master of Thornfield Hall, where main character Jane, played by Mia Wasikowska, gets employed as a governess. Dench reportedly signed to the project after she had received a humorous personal note from Fukunaga, in which he "promised her that she'd be the sexiest woman on set if she did the film". Acclaimed among critics, it was a mediocre arthouse success at the box office, grossing US$30.5 million worldwide. In Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn , which depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl starring Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier, Dench played actress Sybil Thorndike. The film garnered largely positive reviews, and earned Dench a Best Actress in a Supporting Role nomination at the 65th BAFTA Awards.

Dench's last film of 2011 was Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar , a biographical drama film about the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, from the Palmer Raids onwards, including an examination of his private life as a closeted homosexual. Hand-picked by Eastwood to play Anna Marie Hoover, Hoover's mother, Dench initially thought a friend was setting her up upon receiving Eastwood's phone call request. "I didn't take it seriously to start with. And then I realised it was really him and that was a tricky conversation", she stated. Released to mixed reception, both with critics and commercially, the film went on to gross US$79 million worldwide. The same year, Dench reunited with Rob Marshall and Johnny Depp for a cameo appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides , playing a noblewoman who is robbed by Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Depp. She made a second cameo that year in Ray Cooney's Run for Your Wife .

In 2011, Dench reunited with director John Madden on the set of the comedy-drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), starring an ensemble cast also consisting of Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Ronald Pickup, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, and Penelope Wilton, as a group of British pensioners moving to a retirement hotel in India, run by the young and eager Sonny (Dev Patel). Released to positive reviews by critics, who declared the film a "sweet story about the senior set featuring a top-notch cast of veteran actors", it became a surprise box-office hit following its international release, eventually grossing $US134 million worldwide, mostly from its domestic run. Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was ranked among the highest-grossing specialty releases of the year, and Dench, who Peter Travers from Rolling Stone called "resilient marvel", garnered a Best Actress nod at both the British Independent Film Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Also in 2012, Friend Request Pending , an indie short film which Dench had filmed in 2011, received a wide release as part of the feature films Stars in Shorts and The Joy of Six . In the 12-minute comedy, directed by My Week with Marilyn assistant director Chris Foggin on a budget of just £5,000, she portrays a pensioner grappling with a crush on her church choirmaster and the art of cyber-flirting via social networking. Dench made her seventh and final appearance as M in the twenty-third James Bond film, Skyfall (2012), directed by Sam Mendes. In the film, Bond investigates an attack on MI6; it transpires that it is part of an attack on M by former MI6 operative, Raoul Silva (played by Javier Bardem) to humiliate, discredit and kill M as revenge against her for betraying him. Dench's position as M was subsequently filled by Ralph Fiennes' character. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, Skyfall was positively received by critics and at the box office, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, and became the highest-grossing film of all-time in the UK and the highest-grossing film in the James Bond series. Critics called Dench's Saturn Awards-nominated performance "compellingly luminous".

In 2013, Dench starred as the title character in the Stephen Frears directed film, Philomena , a film inspired by true events of a woman looking for the son which the Catholic Church took from her a half-century before. The film was screened in the main competition section at the 70th Venice International Film Festival, where it was very favorably received by critics. On Dench's performance, The Times commented that "this is Dench's triumph. At 78, she has a golden career behind her, often as queens and other frosty matriarchs. So the warmth under pressure she radiates here is nearly a surprise [...] Dench gives a performance of grace, nuance, and cinematic heroism." She was subsequently nominated for many major acting awards, including a seventh Oscar nomination.

2015–present

In 2015, Dench appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman in Dearbhla Walsh's small screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel Esio Trot (1990), in which a retired bachelor falls in love with his widowed neighbour, played by Dench, who keeps a tortoise as a companion after the death of her husband, First broadcast on BBC One on New Year's Day 2015, it became one of the most-watched programmes of the week, and earned Dench her first Best Actress nomination at the 2016 International Emmy Awards. On her performance, Telegraph 's Michael Hogan commented: "We've grown accustomed to seeing Dench in forbidding roles, but here, she recalled her footloose, flirtatious side, displayed in sitcoms as A Fine Romance and As Time Goes By . The Dame was sparkly and downright ravishing."

As with most of the original cast, Dench reprised the role of Evelyn in John Madden's The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015), the sequel to the 2011 sleeper hit. The comedy-drama was released to lukewarm reviews from critics, who found it "as original as its title – but with a cast this talented and effortlessly charming, that hardly matters". From April to May 2015, Dench played a mother, with her real-life daughter Finty Williams playing her character's daughter, in The Vote at the Donmar Warehouse. The final performance was broadcast live on More4 at 8:25 pm; the time when the events in the play take place. The appearance marked her first performance at the theatre since 1976. On 20 September 2015, she was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs for the third time, in which she revealed that her first acting performance was as a snail. She reprised her role as M in the 2015 James Bond film, Spectre , in the form of a recording that was delivered to Bond.

In 2016, Dench made Olivier Award history when she won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in The Winter's Tale , breaking her own record with her eighth win as a performer. Next, she co-starred as Cecily Neville, Duchess of York to Benedict Cumberbatch's Richard III in the second series of the BBC Two historical series The Hollow Crown . The same year, she was cast alongside Eva Green and Asa Butterfield in Tim Burton's dark fantasy film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . Dench played Miss Esmeralda Avocet, a headmistress who can manipulate time and can transform into a bird. The film garnered mixed reviews from critics, who felt it was "on stronger footing as a visual experience than a narrative one". Budgeted on US$110 million, it became a commercial hit, grossing nearly US$300 million worldwide.

Dench's first film of 2017 was Justin Chadwick's Tulip Fever , alongside Alicia Vikander and Christoph Waltz. Set during the period of the tulip mania, the historical drama follows a 17th-century painter in Amsterdam who falls in love with a married woman whose portrait he has been hired to paint. Filmed in 2014, the film went through several delays and earned largely negative reviews from critics, who called it a "handsomely-mounted period piece undone by uninspired dialogue and excessive plotting". Also in 2017, Dench reprised the role of Queen Victoria when she headlined Stephen Frears's Victoria & Abdul . The biographical comedy-drama depicts the real-life relationship between the monarch and her Indian Muslim servant Abdul Karim, played by opposite Ali Fazal. While the film was met with lukewarm reviews for its "imbalanced narrative", Dench earned specific praise for her performance,[119] earning the actress her 12th Golden Globe nomination.[120] Dench's last film that year was Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express , based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. The mystery–drama ensemble film follows world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot, who seeks to solve a murder on the famous European train in the 1930s. Dench portrayed Princess Dragomiroff opposite Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Penelope Cruz.[122] The film has grossed $351 million worldwide and received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise for the cast's performances, but criticism for not adding anything new to previous adaptations.[123]

In September 2017 the website LADBible posted a video of Dench rapping with UK Grime MC Lethal Bizzle. The collaboration came about because the slang term "dench", which is used as a compliment, features in Bizzle's lyrics and on his clothing brand Stay Dench which Dench had previously helped to promote.[124][125]

In 2019, Dench will star as Old Deuteronomy in the film adaptation of Cats alongside Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, James Corden, and Idris Elba.[126]

Personal life

Dench is a long-time resident of Outwood, Surrey.[127]

On 5 February 1971, Dench married British actor Michael Williams. They had their only child, Tara Cressida Frances Williams, an actress known professionally as Finty Williams, on 24 September 1972. Dench and her husband starred together in several stage productions and on the Bob Larbey British television sitcom, A Fine Romance (1981–84). Michael Williams died from lung cancer in 2001, aged 65. They have one grandchild, Finty's son Sam Williams (born in 1997).[128]

Dench has been in a relationship with conservationist David Mills since 2010. During a 2014 interview with The Times magazine, she discussed how she never expected to find love again after her husband's death, "I wasn't even prepared to be ready for it. It was very, very gradual and grown up ... It's just wonderful."[129]

In early 2012, Dench discussed her macular degeneration, with one eye "dry" and the other "wet", for which she has been treated with injections into the eye. She said that she needs someone to read scripts to her.[130] She also underwent knee surgery in 2013, but stated that she recovered from the procedure well, and: "It's not an issue for me."[131]

Dench has been an outspoken critic of prejudice in the movie industry against older actresses. She stated in 2014, "I'm tired of being told I'm too old to try something. I should be able to decide for myself if I can't do things and not have someone tell me I'll forget my lines or I'll trip and fall on the set"; and "Age is a number. It's something imposed on you ... It drives me absolutely spare when people say, 'Are you going to retire? Isn't it time you put your feet up?' Or tell me [my] age."[132]

In 2013, she spoke about her personal religious faith. Dench, a Quaker, said, "I think it informs everything I do ... I couldn't be without it."[133]

Honours and charity

Dench was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1970 Birthday Honours[134] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1988 New Year Honours.[135] She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2005 Birthday Honours.[136] In June 2011, she became a fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI).

In a biography by John Miller it was noted that in the late 1990s Dench was the patron of over 180 charities, many of which were related either to the theatre or to medical causes, for example York Against Cancer.[137] Dench is a patron of the Leaveners, Friends School Saffron Walden, The Archway Theatre, Horley, Surrey and OnePlusOne Marriage and Partnership Research, London. She became president of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 2006,[138] taking over from Sir John Mills, and is president of Questors Theatre, Ealing. In May 2006, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). She was also patron of Ovingdean Hall School, a special day and boarding school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Brighton, which closed in 2010,[139] and Vice President of The Little Foundation. Dame Judi is also a long-standing and active Vice President of the national disabled people's charity Revitalise.

Dench is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 1996, she was awarded a DUniv degree from Surrey University[140] and in 2000–2001, she received an honorary DLitt degree from Durham University.[141] On 24 June 2008, she was honoured by the University of St Andrews, receiving an honorary DLitt degree at the university's graduation ceremony.[142] On 26 June 2013, she was honoured by the University of Stirling, receiving an honorary doctorate at the university's graduation ceremony in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Arts, particularly to film.[143]

In March 2013, Dench was listed as one of the fifty best-dressed over 50s by The Guardian .[144] One of the highest-profile actresses in British popular culture, Dench appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.[145]

Political views and social interests

Dench has worked with the non-governmental indigenous organisation Survival International, campaigning in the defence of the tribal people – the San of Botswana and the Arhuaco of Colombia. She made a small supporting video saying the San are victims of tyranny, greed, and racism. Dench is also a patron of the Karuna Trust, a charity that supports work amongst some of India's poorest and most oppressed people, mainly, though not exclusively, Dalits.[146]

On 22 July 2010, Dench was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University.[147] The Dr. Hadwen Trust announced on 15 January 2011, that Dench had become a patron of the trust, joining, among others, Joanna Lumley and David Shepherd.[148] On 19 March 2012, it was announced that Dench was to become honorary patron of the charity Everton in the Community, the official charity of Everton F.C. and it was reported that Dench is an Everton supporter.[149]

Dench is an advisor to the American Shakespeare Center. She is a patron of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres.[150] She is also a patron of Shakespeare North, a playhouse project due to be completed in 2019 in the town of Prescot in Knowsley, near Liverpool.[151] She is patron of East Park Riding for the Disabled, a riding school for disabled children at Newchapel, Surrey.[152] Dench is also a Vice-President of national charity Revitalise, that provides accessible holidays for those with disabilities.[153] In 2011, along with musician Sting and billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, she publicly urged policy makers to adopt more progressive drug policies by decriminalizing drug use.[154][155]

Dench was one of 200 celebrities to sign an open letter to the people of Scotland asking them to vote No to independence, published in August 2014, a few weeks before the Scottish referendum.[156]

In September 2018, Dench criticized the response to the sexual misconduct allegations made against actor Kevin Spacey, referring to him as a "good friend".[157]

Partial Filmography

  • The Third Secret (1964)

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)

  • Love in a Cold Climate (1980)

  • A Room with a View (1985)

  • Henry V (1989)

  • GoldenEye (1995)

  • Hamlet (1996)

  • Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

  • Mrs Brown (1997)

  • Shakespeare in Love (1998)

  • The World Is Not Enough (1999)

  • Tea with Mussolini (1999)

  • Chocolat (2000)

  • The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000)

  • The Shipping News (2001)

  • Iris (2001)

  • Die Another Day (2002)

  • Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

  • Ladies in Lavender (2004)

  • Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)

  • Pride & Prejudice (2005)

  • Notes on a Scandal (2006)

  • Casino Royale (2006)

  • Quantum of Solace (2008)

  • Nine (2009)

  • Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

  • J. Edgar (2011)

  • Jane Eyre (2011)

  • My Week with Marilyn (2011)

  • Skyfall (2012)

  • The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

  • Philomena (2013)

  • Roald Dahl's Esio Trot (2014)

  • The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015)

  • Spectre (2015)

  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

  • Tulip Fever (2017)

  • Victoria & Abdul (2017)

  • Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

  • Nothing Like a Dame (2018)

  • All Is True (2018)

  • Artemis Fowl (2019)

  • Cats (2019)

Discography
  • Pericles (1968) Shakespeare Recording Society, Caedmon Records

  • Cabaret (1968), Original London cast album CBS (1973)

  • The Good Companions (1974), Original London cast recording (1974)

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1995); from Felix Mendelssohn as Recitant. Conducted by Seiji Ozawa

  • A Little Night Music (1995) by Stephen Sondheim, Royal National Theatre Cast

  • Nine (2009) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

  • Spaceship Earth (Epcot) narrator of the current version of the attraction. (2008)

Awards and nominations

The following is a list of awards and nominations received by actress Dame Judi Dench .

Among her major awards, Dench has won an Academy Award, a Tony, four television BAFTA Awards, six film, and seven Laurence Olivier Awards. She holds the record for most acting majors across all six American and British events, winning eighteen and receiving fifty two nominations. Other significant awards include two Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ten critics awards. Overall, in her career to date, she has won 55 competitive awards from 203 nominations. She has also received 10 honorary awards, including the lifetime achievement Special Olivier Award and the BAFTA Fellowship.

Academy Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Nominated

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Won

2000

Chocolat

Nominated

2001

Iris

Best Actress

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Nominated

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2004

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

Outstanding Achievement in Character Performance – Female

Won

Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2008

Herself

Lifetime Achievement Award

Nominated

2011

J. Edgar

Actress Defying Age and Ageism

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Won

Female Icon Award for Humanitarian Activism

Nominated

2013

Philomena

EDA Award for Best Actress

Nominated

Actress Defying Age and Ageism

Nominated

American Comedy Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special – Network, Cable, or Syndication

Nominated

Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Actress – International

Nominated

2017

Victoria and Abdul

Nominated

Awards Circuit Community

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Nominated

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Runner-up

2013

Philomena

Runner-up

British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

Film

1965

Four in the Morning

Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles

Won

1985

Wetherby

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominated

1986

A Room with a View

Won

1987

84 Charing Cross Road

Nominated

1988

A Handful of Dust

Won

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Won

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Won

2000

Chocolat

Nominated

2001

The Shipping News

Nominated

Iris

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Won

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2011

My Week with Marilyn

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nominated

Television

1968

Talking to a Stranger

Best Actress

Won

1980

On Giant's Shoulders

Nominated

1982

Going Gently / A Fine Romance (Series 1) / The Cherry Orchard

Won

1983

A Fine Romance (Series 2)

Best Entertainment Performance

Nominated

1984

A Fine Romance (Series 3)

Nominated

Saigon: Year of the Cat

Best Actress

Nominated

1985

A Fine Romance (Series 4)

Best Entertainment Performance

Won

1990

Behaving Badly

Best Actress

Nominated

1996

As Time Goes By (Series 5-6)

Best Comedy Performance

Nominated

1998

Nominated

2001

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Best Actress

Won

2008

Cranford

Nominated

British Academy Scotland Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress – Film

Won

British Independent Film Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film

Nominated

2007

Notes on a Scandal

Won

2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Nominated

Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1982

A Fine Romance

Best Actress

Won

2008

Cranford

Nominated

CableACE Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1988

The Browning Version

Actress in a Theatrical or Dramatic special

Won

1994

Look Back in Anger [A]

International Theatrical Special or Series

Won

Notes
  • A ^ Shared with Ian Martin, Al Mitchell, Humphrey Barclay, David Parfitt, Moira Williams, David Jones, and John Guare

Capri, Hollywood International Film Festival Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2011

My Week with Marilyn [B]

Ensemble Cast

Won

Notes
  • B ^ Shared with Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Julia Ormond, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Watson, Dominic Cooper, Dougray Scott, and Zoë Wanamaker

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Won

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

Critics' Choice Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress in a Movie

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2009

Nine [C]

Best Acting Ensemble in a Movie

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Best Actress in an Action Movie

Nominated

Best Supporting Actress in a Movie

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress in a Movie

Nominated

Notes
  • C ^ Shared with Marion Cotillard, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, and Penélope Cruz

Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2000

Chocolat

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2001

The Shipping News

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Runner-up

2013

Philomena

3rd Place

Dorian Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Film Performance of the Year – Actress

Nominated

Drama Desk Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1999

Amy's View

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Nominated

Dublin Film Critics' Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Emmy Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

Primetime Emmy Awards

2001

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

Nominated

2008

Cranford

Nominated

2010

Return to Cranford

Nominated

International Emmy Awards

2016

Roald Dahl's Esio Trot

Best Performance by an Actress

Nominated

Empire Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2012

Skyfall

Best Actress

Nominated

European Film Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2002

Iris

Best Actress

Nominated

2005

Ladies in Lavender [D]

Nominated

Notes
  • D ^ The nomination shared with Maggie Smith

Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

Film

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Won

Theatre

1980

Juno and the Paycock [E]

Best Actress

Won

1982

A Kind of Alaska / The Importance of Being Earnest

Won

1987

Antony and Cleopatra

Won

Notes
  • E ^ Shared with Frances de la Tour for her role of Stephanie Anderson in Duet for One

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Runner-up

Georgia Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2012

Skyfall

Best Supporting Actress

Won

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Golden Globe Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Won

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

Nominated

2000

Chocolat

Nominated

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV

Won

2001

Iris

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2008

Cranford

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV

Nominated

2010

Return to Cranford

Nominated

2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2017

Victoria & Abdul

Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical

Nominated

Houston Film Critics Society Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Nominated

Irish Film & Television Academy Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best International Actress

Won

Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Won

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

Iris

Best Actress

Nominated

Laurence Olivier Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1977

Macbeth

Actress of the Year in a Revival

Won

1980

Juno and the Paycock

Won

1982

The Importance of Being Earnest

Nominated

Other Places

Actress of the Year in a New Play

Nominated

1983

Pack of Lies

Won

1987

Antony and Cleopatra

Actress of the Year (aka Best Actress)

Won

1992

The Boys from Syracuse

Best Director of a Musical

Nominated

1993

The Gift of the Gorgon

Best Actress

Nominated

1996

Absolute Hell

Won

A Little Night Music

Best Actress in a Musical

Won

1998

Amy's View

Best Actress

Nominated

1999

Filumena

Nominated

2005

All's Well That Ends Well

Best Performance in a Supporting Role

Nominated

2014

Peter and Alice

Best Actress

Nominated

2016

The Winter's Tale

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Won

London Film Critics' Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

British Actress of the Year

Won

2001

Iris

Won

2004

Ladies in Lavender

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

Actress of the Year

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Supporting Actress of the Year

Nominated

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel / Skyfall

British Actress of the Year

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Won

Actress of the Year

Nominated

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

Runner-up

National Board of Review Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents [F]

Best Acting by an Ensemble

Won

Notes
  • F ^ Shared with Bob Hoskins, Will Young, Christopher Guest, Kelly Reilly, Thelma Barlow, Anna Brewster, Rosalind Halstead, Sarah Solemani, and Natalia Tena

National Movie Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2007

Casino Royale

Best Performance by a Female

Nominated

National Society of Film Critics Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

3rd Place

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Won

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

3rd Place

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

3rd Place

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress

5th Place

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Runner-up

New York Film Critics Online Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

Iris

Best Actress

Won

Online Film & Television Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Nominated

Best Drama Actress

Nominated

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Ensemble [G]

Won

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2000

Chocolat

Nominated

2001

Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2009

Return to Cranford

Best Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Notes
  • G ^ Shared with the respective ensembles of the films

Online Film Critics Society Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Won

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Skyfall

International Star

Won

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

Iris

Best Actress

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Rembrandt Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Skyfall

Best Foreign Actress

Nominated

Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

Iris

Best Foreign Actress

Nominated

San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2000

Chocolat

Best Supporting Actress

Runner-up

San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Satellite Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Won

2000

Chocolat

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2001

Iris

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama

Nominated

2008

Cranford

Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Won

2009

Nine [H]

Best Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Won

2010

Return to Cranford

Best Actress in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress in a Motion Picture

Nominated

2017

Victoria & Abdul

Best Actress in a Motion Picture

Nominated

Notes
  • H ^ Shared with Marion Cotillard, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, and Penélope Cruz

Saturn Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Nominated

2008

Quantum of Solace

Best Supporting Actress

Nominated

2012

Skyfall

Nominated

SESC Film Festival Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1999

Mrs Brown [I]

Best Foreign Actress

Won

Notes
  • I ^ Shared with Robin Wright for her role of Maureen Murphy Quinn in She's So Lovely

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominated

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture [J]

Won

2000

Chocolat

Nominated

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Won

2001

The Shipping News

Nominated

Iris

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated

The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie

Nominated

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2009

Nine

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture [J]

Nominated

2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated

2017

Victoria & Abdul

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated

Notes
  • J ^ Shared with the respective ensembles of the films

ShoWest Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2001

Herself

Supporting Actress of the Year

Won

Society of Texas Film Critics Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Runner-up

Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Runner-up

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress [K]

Runner-up

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Runner-up

Notes
  • K ^ Shared with Kathy Bates for her role of Libby Holden in Primary Colors

St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2005

Mrs Henderson Presents

Best Actress

Won

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Nominated

Taormina Film Fest Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2004

Herself

Taormina Arte Award

Honored

TV Quick Award

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2008

Cranford

Best Actress

Nominated

Tony Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1999

Amy's View

Best Actress in a Play

Won

Toronto Film Critics Association Award

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Nominated

Utah Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

1997

Mrs Brown

Best Actress

Nominated

1998

Shakespeare in Love

Best Supporting Actress

Runner-up

2001

Iris

Best Actress

Nominated

Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Best Actress

Nominated

Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2009

Nine [L]

Best Ensemble

Nominated

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Nominated

Notes
  • L ^ Shared with Marion Cotillard, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, and Penélope Cruz

Women Film Critics Circle Awards

Year

Nominated work

Category

Result

2013

Philomena

Best Actress

Won

Honorary Awards

Year

Organisation

Award

Result

1997

Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Patricia Rothermere Award for Outstanding Services to the Theatre

Honored

London Film Critics' Circle

Circle Annual Award for Services to the Arts Award

Honored

2001

British Academy Film Awards

BAFTA Fellowship

Honored

2004

Evening Standard Theatre Awards

50th Anniversary Special Award

Honored

Laurence Olivier Awards

Society of London Theatre Special Award

Honored

2008

European Film Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Honored

London Film Critics' Circle

Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film Award

Honored

2011

British Film Institute

BFI Fellowship

Honored

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema Award

Honored

2012

Evening Standard Theatre Awards

Moscow Art Theatre Golden Seagull Award

Honored

Skyfall (2012) is the twenty-third spy film in the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions. It features Daniel Craig in his third performance as James Bond, and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, the film's villain. It was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and John Logan, and features the theme song "Skyfall", co-written and performed by British singer Adele. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Columbia Pictures.

The story centres on Bond investigating an attack on MI6; the attack is part of a plot by former MI6 agent Raoul Silva to humiliate, discredit and kill M as revenge against her for betraying him. The film sees the return of two recurring characters to the series after an absence of two films: Q, played by Ben Whishaw, and Moneypenny, played by Naomie Harris. Skyfall is the last film of the series for Judi Dench, who played M, a role that she had played in the previous six films. The position is subsequently filled by Ralph Fiennes' character, Gareth Mallory, though Dench would make a brief appearance in the next Bond film, Spectre .

Mendes was approached to direct the film after the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008. Development was suspended when MGM encountered financial troubles and did not resume until December 2010; during this time, Mendes remained attached to the project as a consultant. The original screenwriter, Peter Morgan, left the project during the suspension. When production resumed, Logan, Purvis, and Wade continued writing what became the final version of the script. Filming began in November 2011 and primarily took place in the United Kingdom, with smaller portions shot in China and Turkey.

Skyfall premiered in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 23 October 2012 and was released in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2012, fifty years after release of Dr. No (1962), and ten years after release of Die Another Day (2002), and the United States on 9 November 2012. It was the first James Bond film to be screened in IMAX venues, although it was not filmed with IMAX cameras. The film's release coincided with the 50th anniversary of the series, which began with Dr. No in 1962. Skyfall received widespread acclaim by critics, with its performances—particularly those of Craig, Bardem and Dench—writing and script, cinematography, Mendes' direction, Thomas Newman's score, and the action scenes receiving noteworthy praise. Earning over $1.1 billion in box office takings worldwide, Skyfall became the 14th film to gross over $1 billion worldwide, and the first Bond film to do so. It became the highest-grossing entry in the James Bond series, the seventh-highest-grossing film at the time, the highest-grossing film in the UK, the highest-grossing film worldwide for both Sony Pictures and MGM, and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012. The film won several accolades, with Adele's "Skyfall" becoming the first Bond theme song to win an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Plot

MI6 agents James Bond and Eve Moneypenny pursue mercenary Patrice, who has stolen a hard drive containing details of undercover agents. As Bond and Patrice fight atop a train, M orders Moneypenny to shoot Patrice from long range. Moneypenny misses and inadvertently hits Bond, who falls into a river. Bond is presumed dead and Patrice escapes.

In the aftermath of the operation M comes under pressure from Gareth Mallory, the chairman of the British parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, to retire. MI6's servers are hacked and M receives a taunting computer message moments before the MI6 headquarters explodes. Bond, who used his presumed death to retire, learns of the attack and returns to London. Although he fails a series of physical and psychological examinations, M approves his return to the field. Bond is ordered to identify Patrice's employer, recover the stolen hard drive, and kill Patrice. He meets Q, MI6's new quartermaster, who gives him a radio beacon and a Walther PPK pistol.

In Shanghai, Bond follows Patrice into a skyscraper but is unable to prevent him from killing a target. The two fight, but Patrice falls to his death before Bond can learn his employer's identity. Bond finds a Casino token in Patrice's rifle case, which leads him to a casino in Macau. Bond is approached by Sévérine, Patrice's accomplice, and asks to meet her employer. She warns him that he is about to be killed by her bodyguards, but promises to help Bond if he will kill her employer. Bond thwarts the attack and joins Séverine on her yacht, where they have sex. They travel to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau where they are taken prisoner by the crew and delivered to Séverine's employer, Raoul Silva. Silva, once an MI6 agent, has now turned to cyberterrorism and orchestrated the attack on MI6. Silva kills Séverine, but Bond captures Silva for rendition to Britain.

At MI6's new underground headquarters, Q attempts to decrypt Silva's laptop. Q inadvertently gives the laptop access to the MI6 servers, which allows Silva to escape. Bond deduces that Silva wanted to be captured as part of a plan to kill M, whom he resents for disavowing him. Bond gives chase through the London Underground but loses Silva after a train crash. Silva attacks M during a public inquiry into her handling of the stolen hard drive but Bond arrives in time to repel the attack. M is saved from a bullet by Mallory and ends up in a car with Bond.

Bond and M travel to Skyfall, the Bond family estate in the Scottish Highlands. Bond instructs Q and Bill Tanner to leave an electronic trail for Silva to follow. Bond and M meet up with Skyfall's gamekeeper Kincade, and together the trio set up a series of booby traps throughout the house. When Silva's men arrive, Bond, M, and Kincade manage to kill most of them. Silva himself arrives by helicopter with a more men and heavy weapons, so Bond sends M and Kincade off through a priest hole to a chapel on the grounds. As the house is destroyed Bond escapes down the same tunnel and heads toward the chapel.

Silva survives the destruction of the house and follows Kincade and M to the chapel. He forces his gun into M's hand and presses his temple to hers, begging her to kill them both. Bond arrives and kills Silva by throwing a knife into his back, but M succumbs to her wounds and dies in Bond's arms. Following M's funeral, Moneypenny formally introduces herself to Bond and tells him she is retiring from field work to become secretary for the newly appointed M. Bond is summoned to M's office and finds that Mallory is his new boss.

Cast
  • Daniel Craig as James Bond, agent 007.

  • Judi Dench as M, the head of MI6 and Bond's superior.

  • Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva (born Tiago Rodriguez), an ex-MI6 operative-turned-cyberterrorist.

  • Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory, chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

  • Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, an MI6 field agent.

  • Bérénice Lim Marlohe as Sévérine, Raoul Silva's associate and mistress.

  • Albert Finney as Kincade, the gamekeeper of the Skyfall estate.

  • Ben Whishaw as Q, the MI6 quartermaster.

  • Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner, the MI6 Chief of Staff.

  • Ola Rapace as Patrice, a mercenary under Silva's command.

  • Helen McCrory as Clair Dowar MP

Production

Development

Production of Skyfall was suspended throughout 2010 because of MGM's financial troubles. Preproduction resumed following MGM's exit from bankruptcy on 21 December 2010; in January 2011, the film was officially given a release date of 9 November 2012 by MGM and the Broccoli family, with production scheduled to start in late 2011. Subsequently, MGM and Sony Pictures announced that the UK release date would be brought forward to 26 October 2012, two weeks ahead of the US release date, which remained scheduled for 9 November 2012. The film's budget is estimated to have been between US$150 million and $200 million, compared to the $200 million spent on Quantum of Solace . Skyfall was part of year-long celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Dr. No and the Bond film series. According to producer Michael G. Wilson, a documentary crew was scheduled to follow production of the film to celebrate the anniversary.

Pre-production

After the release of Quantum of Solace in 2008, producer Barbara Broccoli commented that Skyfall , untitled at the time, may continue the plot of the Quantum organisation, introduced in Casino Royale and continued in Quantum of Solace . Ultimately, Skyfall was a stand-alone film.

In August 2011 the Serbian newspaper Blic stated that Bond 23 would be entitled Carte Blanche and would be an adaptation of the recent continuation novel by Jeffery Deaver. On 30 August Eon Productions officially denied any link between Bond 23 and Carte Blanche , stating that "the new film is not going to be called Carte Blanche and will have nothing to do with the Jeffery Deaver book". On 3 October 2011 15 domain names including 'jamesbond-skyfall.com' and 'skyfallthefilm.com' were reported to have been registered on behalf of MGM and Sony Pictures by Internet brand-protection service MarkMonitor. This led to supposition in the media that the film had been given the name "Skyfall". These reports were not confirmed at the time by Eon Productions, Sony or MGM. Skyfall was later confirmed as the title at a press conference on 3 November 2011, during which co-producer Barbara Broccoli said that the title "has some emotional context which will be revealed in the film". The title refers to the name of Bond's childhood home "Skyfall", and the setting for the film's finale.

Casting

The main cast of Skyfall was officially announced at a press conference held at the Corinthia Hotel in London on 3 November 2011, 50 years to the day after Sean Connery was announced to play James Bond in the film Dr. No Daniel Craig returned as James Bond for the third time, saying he felt lucky to have the chance to appear as 007. Director Sam Mendes described Bond as experiencing a "combination of lassitude, boredom, depression [and] difficulty with what he's chosen to do for a living". Judi Dench returned as M for her seventh and final appearance in the role. Over the course of the film, M's ability to run MI6 is repeatedly called into question, culminating in a public inquiry into her running of the service.

Javier Bardem was cast as the film's principal villain, Raoul Silva, a cyberterrorist who is seeking revenge against those he holds responsible for betraying him. Bardem described Silva as "more than a villain", while Craig stated that Bond has a "very important relationship" to Silva. In casting the role, director Sam Mendes admitted that he lobbied hard for Bardem to accept the part. Mendes saw the potential for the character to be recognised as one of the most memorable characters in the series and wanted to create "something [the audience] may consider to have been absent from the Bond movies for a long time". He felt that Bardem was one of the few actors up to the task of becoming "colourless" and existing within the world of the film as something more than a function of the plot. In preparing for the role, Bardem had the script translated into his native Spanish to better understand his character, which Mendes cited as being a sign of the actor's commitment to the film. Bardem dyed his hair blond for the role after brainstorming ideas with Mendes to come up with a distinct visual look for the character, which led some commentators to observe a similarity between the character and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Bérénice Marlohe was cast as Séverine, a character who had been saved from the Macau sex trade by Silva and now works as his representative. Marlohe described her character as being "glamorous and enigmatic", and that she drew inspiration from GoldenEye villain Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen) in playing Séverine.

Ralph Fiennes was cast as Gareth Mallory, a former lieutenant colonel in the British Army and now the chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which gives him the authority to regulate MI6. At the end of the film, Mallory becomes the head of MI6, assuming the title of M. During production, Fiennes stated that he could not say anything specific about the role other than that it was a "really interesting part which is really quite fun". To play the returning character of Miss Moneypenny, Naomie Harris was cast. Harris' role was initially presented as that of Eve, an MI6 field agent who works closely with Bond. Despite ongoing speculation in the media that Harris had been cast as Miss Moneypenny, this was not confirmed by anyone involved in production of the film, with Harris herself even going so far as to dismiss claims that Eve was in fact Moneypenny, stating that "Eve is not remotely office-bound". According to Harris, Eve "believes she is Bond's equal, but she is really his junior". Another character returning to the series was Q, played by Ben Whishaw. Mendes had initially declined to confirm which part Whishaw would play, and later said the idea of the re-introduction was his, saying "I offered ideas about Moneypenny, Q and a flamboyant villain and they said yes". To play the part of Kincade, Mendes cast Albert Finney. The producers briefly considered approaching Sean Connery to play the role in a nod to the 50th anniversary of the film series, but elected not to as they felt Connery's presence would be seen as stunt casting and disengage audiences from the film.

  • Condition: Ungraded
  • Subject Type: TV & Movies
  • Card Size: Standard
  • Autographed: Yes
  • Character: M
  • Autograph Format: Hard Signed
  • Signed By: Dame Judi Dench
  • Film: James Bond - Skyfall
  • Custom Bundle: No
  • Card Condition: Near Mint
  • Material: Card Stock
  • Year Manufactured: 2013
  • Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
  • Franchise: James Bond
  • Graded: No
  • Type: Non-Sport Trading Card
  • Language: English
  • Manufacturer: Rittenhouse
  • Features: Autograph, Personally Signed Autograph Card, Limited Edition
  • Featured Person/Artist: Judi Dench
  • Genre: Spy-Fi, Espionage Fiction, Action
  • Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

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