Judi Dench

Like other British actors of her generation, Dame Judi Dench had solid theatrical training and then spent years making a name for herself on stage. Although she had appeared in films since the early 1960s, she was perfectly content earning the applause of a live audience for her Shakespearean roles. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano talk about a screen career that finally took off in the mid-1980s in films including "A Room with a View" and "84 Charing Cross Road." Marie and Mike have a grand time talking about how convincing this actor of royal stature is when she plays actual royalty on screen. Dench portrayed Queen Victoria in "Mrs. Brown" (1997) and she won the Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998). This versatile actor brings that same authoritative presence to everything she does, as can be seen in her ongoing role as M in recent James Bond movies.