There are actresses that need no introduction and Dame Judi Dench is one of them, as sheās been appearing on television and in movies for five decades, yet in that time, she hasnāt talked much about playing M in the James Bond series, starting with GoldenEye in 1995, which introduced Pierce Brosnan to the role, and continuing through five other movies.
Skyfall will be Denchās seventh James Bond movie, so she probably would have some more insight into the way the movies have changed in the last 17 years, although she knew that she could only say so much and she shot down a number of questions asked of her by visiting journalists.
Question: This is your seventh Bond movie, which means youāve tied Roger Moore for the number of Bond movies youāve done. Do you feel like you have to see a script at this point or is it just a foregone conclusion that youāll return as M?
Dame Judi Dench: No, I just wait to be asked, and then my agent came down and read me the script, which was simply wonderful, and that was it.
Q: Youāve played the character so often that you feel you have enough insight into her that you can throw out ideas if you think sheād say something different than what the writers have written?
Dench: Yes, I think, like every part you play, you make a background. You know exactly what that person would do in certain circumstances. I think there was only one line in this that I thought was a bit foreign for her to say, a very short line of no consequence really, but it wasnāt necessary, actually. It was explanatory and you didnāt have to over-egg that moment, but theyāre very well-written, and itās very, very exciting to be asked to do it. Iāve enjoyed it hugely because my grandson is 15, and he and his friends just love it.
Q: There was a very long gap after āQuantum of Solaceā because of the studio problems. Did you think that maybe theyād never be coming back with another Bond movie?
Dench: Yes, I did think. I did think we would never get back.
Q: How did you feel when they said, āYouāre coming back and Sam Mendes is directing?ā
Dench: Terrific, because heās an old friend of mine, so that was very good indeed. I had worked with him on about the second thing I think he ever worked on in the theater, on āThe Cherry Orchard.ā He was much more bossy then. (Laughter) He was young and very bossy, much more bossy then. Heās not so bossy now; heās much calmer and heās clever.
Q: Are there any references to the other movies? They said this is a standalone movie rather than being a continuation of āQuantum of Solace.ā Does it reference things that happen in the other movies at all or not really?
Dench: No, itās another story.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between M and James Bond in this film?
Dench: Well, thereās much more of me in this film, and so you naturally got to be just more to do with each other, more to show of how you feel and your past.
Q: The film revolves heavily around M this time, so can you tell us a little more about that?
Dench: No, no, no, I canāt. Thereās more lines to learn, many more lines to learn, more days filming, more work with Daniel and work with Javier and with Rory Kinnear, and thatās very nice because he was my husbandās Godson, so weāve known him since he was a really tiny boy. Itās very nice that we have a relationship where he is working anyway with M, we work together, so we have that relationship. Itās built-in because we know each other so well.
Q: Do you discover any new things about M that you didnāt know before with more backstory thatās going to come out in this film?
Dench: Yes. (Laughter) A few.
Q: Weāve heard that M might get into some kind of trouble, so can you tell us what kind of trouble?
Dench: No, I canāt tell you which kind of trouble. She gets into trouble.
Q: I feel like in the other movies you havenāt had much interaction with the villains, so thatās one thing that seems very different in that you might be interacting more with the villain.
Dench: Itās more exciting to me. Much more, especially when you get Javier Bardem. Yes, itās very exciting, but thereās just more story to tell.
Q: Weāve never seen M in action and weāve never see her shoot guns, so do we get the impression that maybe she has those skills we havenāt yet seen?
Dench: I expect she didnāt get to the head of MI6 if she couldnāt do that. (She wouldnāt answer our follow-up question whether sheād done any gun training.)
Q: Itās been 50 years, so where you always a follower of the series?
Dench: Well, like people here, the Bond films are iconic. You waited for the new Bond film and you went to it. I remember going years and years ago, years ago, and my husband was a huge Bond fan, and was right excited to think he had a Bond woman in his family. Theyāre not called āgirlsā anymore, is she? And especially as (M) had never been played as a woman. M had always been a man. A lot of people said it was because of the influence Dame Stella Rimington, who is the head of MI5, but as a matter of fact, I think this script was written just before she was appointed. Iād never met her, but Iām going to meet her a week after nextāthereās going to be a Dameās Lunchāand Iām thrilled. Thereāll be a lot to talk to her about. Sheāll give a few tips to me a bit too late.
Q: Maybe for the next one?
Dench: Who knows?
Q: Whatās the benefits of being a female M?
Dench: Well, I think the plus is because then itās a very different angle on Bond. Itās not a man putting another man to do it. Thereās a woman, and add into the fact that she is his senior, it puts another angle on it. It puts a certain strain on it.
Q: In what way would you say Silva is a good villain for James Bond?
Dench: Why is he a good villain? Well, you look at Javier Bardem. (Laughs) Heās terrific, terrific, I think.
Q: Youāve been playing alongside both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig as Bonds. Can you describe the differences and the likenesses of those two as Bonds?
Dench: Well, itās Bond, but the difference between the two is very extreme. Danielās much more a kind of Bond of today, but both of them have a self-mocking quality about them, which is essential for him too, much like the ironic thing of being able to say something outrageous and be very relaxed about it. British phlegm, stiff upper lip, you know, you can mock that at any time.
Q: How did you rationalize the change from Pierce to Daniel? Usually, when a new Bond comes on, everyone just assumes itās the same character and everythingās just carried on.
Dench: In a way, that is what has to happen, but by nature of the fact that theyāre different people, how I would treat Pierce with one line or two lines would be different from the way I would (talk to Daniel), simply because of the way they would react. If weāre doing āHamletā tonight and I was playing Gertrude, if you were playing Hamlet tonight (she says pointing to one male journalist) Is that okay? We would play the closet scene one way, but if tomorrow night you were playing Hamlet (she points to another journalist), the way we would play the closet scene, although set exactly the same way, would be quite different by nature of the fact that people, if we were all to say something in one way, it would all be different. Nobody would say the line the same, so therefore, itās like something you slightly adjust, you know? I donāt really like to say it in here. Are we in a theater? No, but Shakespeareās Scottish play, which we donāt name, but when Ian McKellen and I were doing that, he used to change ever so slightly, and by nature of what he changed, so did I. Itās a reflective thing, so therefore, you might be called James Bond, and you say something, but probably my reaction if I were to do this whole film with Pierce, it will be slightly different from the way I wouldāve done it with Daniel.
Q: But in terms of āGoldenEye,ā for that movie, you were the new M and the new boss.
Dench: He was the new Bond.
Q: But you treated Bond as he was the same character as previously, but the fact you were the new M was stated. In āCasino Royale,ā you were the same M, but there was a new Bond, and it was a different dynamic.
Dench: Thatās right. Yes. Well, thatās more to do with the writing. I treated it much like this is a new up and coming jumped-up person that Iād then have to watch, a tad younger.
Q: In that sense, how do you think Daniel Craig has affected Bond as a character?
Dench: Well, I donāt know. Heās played it his way. Heās made it a Bond much more of today. I donāt know. Itās difficult for me, because Iāve been in close contact with them both and theyāre both very different kind of actors, but nevertheless, theyāve both taken on the mantle of Bond. God, that canāt be easy, I think. Once you do that, I think your name is James Bond for the rest of your life.
Q: You mentioned youāve been friends with Sam Mendes for a long time, youāve worked with him before. Heās also the sixth director youāve worked with on a Bond movie. How is he different from some of the others?
Dench: Theyāve all been completely different, but perhaps it is the fact that Iāve known Sam for such a long time, but from when I first worked with him until now, heās very calm, Sam. Heās very, very calm, and the end of one scene I remember saying, āAre we really all right?ā He said, āI would never go on until Iāve got what I want, never.ā Once you know that, you completely relax because you think heās not going to settle for anything. Heās going to do a lot of takes and heās not going to settle if he thinks he hasnāt got it.
Q: How is Barbara Broccoli as a producer?
Dench: Well, sheās a friend, so itās difficult to say, as a producer because she has also made us always feel that weāre all a part of the same franchise. She or Michael (Wilson) are always there, so somebodyās always about and easy to talk to. Theyāre not people who sit in a room and are people you donāt see. Theyāre not like that. Theyāre actually present and watchful and just there to interact with.
Q: Youāve done very dramatic roles in Shakespeare, is playing M a little bit easier?
Dench: Not easier. No, itās not easier. Not great, not great, long speeches of iambic pentameter to learn, but not easy, not easier. I mean, just different, really different and just a different person to kind of try and tell a story about.
Q: What do you like about M?
Dench: I donāt like or dislike. I donāt ever do that with a character, like or dislike, because I think there are many things to dislike about the character you play and many things to quite admire, but I donāt ever decide which is which. I like the challenge. I love the challenge of playing it, love it. What I like is the effect it has on my grandson and his friends. (Laughs) They donāt mess in my house. Thanks very much.
Skyfall opens everywhere on Friday, November 9. You can read our initial set report here and look for our interview with the new Bond Girl, the lovely BĆ©rĆØnice Malohe, probably tomorrow.