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Dame Judi Dench has opened up about learning she was being axed from the James Bond franchise.
Dench, who appeared as MI6 boss and 007’s superior “M” over the course of seven Bond movies and one cameo appearance, wrote about finding out she was being killed off from the franchise in her new memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?.
“I was taken to the Wolseley restaurant by Barbara, Michael and Sam [Mendes, the director] – I don’t think Daniel Craig was there – and they outlined the plot and told me they were going to bump me off,” 91-year-old Dench wrote.
“My own fault, I suppose. Ever since Goldeneye, when the entire film unit went off to Monte Carlo and St. Petersburg and I only had three days in Watford, I’d been begging them to let me out from behind my desk,” she continued. “Well, they did finally let me out from behind my desk … and they shot me. Apparently, it was Daniel’s idea to have me killed. But first I had to suffer the indignity of being sacked by Ralph Fiennes. Arsehole.”
Dench added: “It was reported in the press that I’d cried when they told me I was being replaced. Of course I didn’t cry. Why on earth would I cry after twenty glorious years and eight Bond films – which, by the way, is one more than Roger Moore, the longest-running 007 to date.”
Dame Judi Dench has reflected on her time in the James Bond film franchise (AFP/Getty)
Reflecting on her time with the franchise, Dench said she “loved playing M because it was great to be able to tell all those men where to get off; put them in their place.”
Dench recalled a particular line “M” said to Pierce Brosnan’s Bond at their first meeting — “You’re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur” — as a particular pride point.
“I was drunk with power. I also got to wear some very nice suits and pretend I knew what I was talking about; and to muck about with gadgets when, in real life, I can’t even work the ironing board,” she continued.
Dench joined the hit film franchise during Brosnan’s time as Bond, appearing in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
She continued to play “M” during the start of Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007, before being killed off in the 2012 installment Skyfall.
Dench has spoken about how she was killed off from the James Bond films by Daniel Craig (Getty)
In promoting her new memoir, Dench revealed she is no longer able to act due to her worsening eye condition.
The Oscar-winning actor was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, which has increasingly made everyday activities difficult.
She opened up about the condition in a new interview on BBC Radio 4‘s Today program, stating: “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.”
Dench, who stressed the importance of radio in her life, said: “You’ve got to adjust to all that, and make allowances for it and just get on and don’t think about it too much.”