Actress Judi Dench, 88, says it’s “ghastly” to be “so dependent” on others and unable to read scripts because of her degenerative eye condition, which has left her barely able to see.
The ‘Skyfall’ star says she wants to work “as much as I can”, despite the difficulties she’s having learning her lines.
Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration in 2012, and the star’s sight has deteriorated a lot.
Despite the difficulties, the star, once described as “the best thing about Britain alongside fish and chips”, has no plans to retire anytime soon, Mirror UK reported.
Dench, perhaps most famed for her role as M16 chief M in James Bond, says she wants to work “as much as I can”.
“I mean I can’t see on a film set any more,” Dench told Notebook. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But you know you just deal with it. Get on. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”
She was forced to give up driving a few years ago when her eyesight began to worsen.
“It’s the most terrible shock to the system,” she had said previously. “Ghastly. It’s terrible to be so dependent on people.”
Judi has achieved what most actors can only dream of in a career spanning six decades. In addition to numerous BAFTAs, a Tony Award and an Oscar – awarded for her powerful portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in ‘Shakespeare In Love’ – Judi made theatre history in 2016 when she picked up a record-breaking eighth Olivier Award.
Judi has remained mostly tight-lipped about her private life.