All the world’s no longer a stage: At 91, Judi Dench opens up on losing the sight she needs to act

British actor Judi Dench poses on the red carpet on arrival to attend the European premiere of the film ‘Belfast’ during the 2021 BFI London Film Festival in London on October 12, 2021. — AFP pic

By Malay Mail

First Published: Friday, 23 Oct 2026 3:19 PM MYT

LONDON, Oct 23 — Dame Judi Dench, one of Britain’s most celebrated actors, says her failing eyesight has taken her off the stage and away from reading.

The Oscar-winning actress, 91, was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, and it has since made it incredibly difficult for her to even recognise faces.

“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 said in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Her sight loss has increasingly affected her work, with Dench previously speaking about struggling to see on film sets and having difficulty learning scripts.

It also leads to awkward moments, as she sometimes approaches the wrong people and gives them “an almost hug” before realising her mistake.

On the subject of ageing, she was brisk, saying there was “nothing to say for it at all” and that she did not think about it too much.

Even so, she has kept up public appearances and spoken openly about adapting to deteriorating vision, saying that “the radio has always been important to me”.

Dench’s career spans more than seven decades across theatre, television and film.

She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.

She also became internationally known as M, James Bond’s boss, making her debut as the first woman to play the role in GoldenEye in 1995.

During the interview, she recalled being invited to lunch by former MI6 chief Sir David Spedding, which she described as “very exciting”.

When she asked where her driver should drop her off, she was told a car would be sent to pick her up instead.

She arrived about 20 minutes late after that driver struggled to find her house.

She said she apologised for being late because the driver could not find her home, adding: “I loved it.”

Asked if she had any views on who should play the next Bond, she simply replied “no”.

Dench also recalled meeting American actor Sidney Poitier, who became the first black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964.

She was appearing in Amy’s View in New York when Poitier came backstage after a performance.

Director Richard Eyre was in her dressing room giving her notes when there was a knock at the door.

Dench said she felt as if she were in a wind tunnel when Poitier walked in, calling it “thrilling”.

Asked what she said to him, she admitted it was “not much, a bit of an open mouth”, adding that he was “so charming” and “very tall”.

The conversation then turned to her love of Shakespeare, which she traced to watching her brother play King Duncan in Macbeth when she was nine.

She recalled thinking “oh my God, this is for me” when he walked on and asked, “What bloody man is that?”

She also admitted to being “besotted” by Shakespeare’s sonnets, saying: “I just love them.”

She said it was the rhythm of them, “the rhythm of your heart”, and the way he so simply sums up how any of us feel about “anything”.