Oscar winner and James Bond star Judi Dench has said sight loss due to macular degeneration means she can no longer see faces clearly, calling the condition a “crusher” as she marked her 91st birthday on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The veteran star of stage and screen, whose role as ‘M’ in eight Bond films shot her to global fame, has suffered from the degenerative eye condition for over a decade.<\/p>\n
Last year, she disclosed it had reached the point where she had effectively been forced to retire.<\/p>\n
Since then, a further deterioration means she can now only see faces – even at close quarters – “in a fog”.<\/p>\n
She still puts the television on but just to listen to, she added in the interview with Radio Times magazine to mark her birthday.<\/p>\n
Dench, nominated seven times for an Academy Award, won Best Supporting Actress in 1999 for her eight-minute turn as Queen Elizabeth I in the romantic period piece Shakespeare in Love.<\/p>\n
Also an acclaimed stage actress, she says she can still remember reams of Shakespeare but “can’t remember what I’m doing tomorrow” and admits to worrying about cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
Asked about Hollywood star Kevin Spacey, a longstanding friend with whom she acted in the 2001 film The Shipping News, Dench was quick to give him her backing.<\/p>\n
Spacey is currently facing a civil battle in the UK over sexual assault allegations after being acquitted of similar accusations in criminal proceedings in 2023.<\/p>\n
“Kevin has been exonerated and I hear from Kevin, we text,” she said.<\/p>\n
She was more reticent about disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose predatory sexual behaviour she has in the past condemned.<\/p>\n
Weinstein was the producer of Shakespeare in Love.<\/p>\n
“I imagine he’s done his time,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I don’t know, to me it’s personal – forgiveness. I just think..,” she said, her voice trailing off.<\/p>\n
Source: AFP<\/p>\n