![\"Dame](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Dame-Judi-Dench-Actor-2021-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still)<\/p>\n
Mon 4 August 2025 15:45, UK <\/p>\n
Even though she\u2019s become famous, or infamous, depending on who\u2019s telling the story, for her wicked sense of humour, Judi Dench<\/a> isn\u2019t exactly synonymous with comedy.<\/p>\n The evidence is there that she\u2019s hilarious, though, based on the number of co-stars and collaborators who\u2019ve revealed the foul-mouthed and X-rated havoc she enjoys wreaking on set or behind the curtain, while she\u2019s got a few of her own near-the-knuckle tales<\/a> to tell.<\/p>\n Of course, she\u2019s performed virtually all of William Shakespeare\u2019s comedies at least once, which is par for the course when the diminutive dame owes her entire career to the playwright<\/a> she called the man who paid the rent. Don\u2019t expect her in a Judd Apatow movie, then, but she\u2019s still willing to go out on a limb and name one actor as comedy\u2019s greatest-ever performer.<\/p>\n Inevitably, it\u2019s not one of the usual suspects. After all, would anyone realistically expect an actor born in Yorkshire in 1934 to single out Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Jim Carrey, John Belushi, Bill Murray, or Will Ferrell? It\u2019s none of the old guard either, with Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, or Buster Keaton failing to get a look-in.<\/p>\n Instead, Dench opted for a former co-star and close friend, albeit one she had an awkward first meeting with. For nine seasons and two special episodes spanning 13 years, the Academy Award winner and Geoffrey Palmer led the cast of As Time Goes By, playing two former flames who renew acquaintances after almost four decades apart.<\/p>\n \u201cWe met for lunch to discuss the show,\u201d she recalled. \u201cHe got us off to a good start when he informed me that they\u2019d wanted Jean Simmons for the part, but she\u2019d declined!\u201d <\/p>\n Still, despite Palmer making it clear that Dench wasn\u2019t the first choice, the two forged a strong connection onscreen and off that lasted until Palmer passed away in November 2020 at the age of 90.<\/p>\n Coming from someone with her reputation, Dench calling Palmer \u201cthe naughtiest man I ever worked with\u201d was a supreme badge of honour. \u201cOh my goodness, how we laughed,\u201d she recalled. \u201cThere were a lot of outtakes. He got me into endless trouble. I have admired him all my life. How lucky to have been in something with him for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond that, Dench celebrated Palmer, or \u2018Geoffers\u2019 as she knew him, for being \u201cso sure on comedy that you could be pretty secure in knowing he would get you through it and make it funny.\u201d Doubling down on her utmost admiration for a longtime co-star and close friend, the veteran told the Radio Times<\/a>, \u201cHe\u2019s unsurpassed as far as comedy is concerned, aided by that lugubrious face and his amazing voice.\u201d<\/p>\n Palmer\u2019s name may not immediately come to mind when determining which actor mastered comedy better than any other, but Dench can\u2019t see past her As Time Goes By colleague as the cream of the comedic crop. Having forgotten more about the craft than most thespians could ever hope to learn, though, she\u2019s speaking from a place of knowledge and experience.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Related Topics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still) Mon 4 August 2025 15:45, UK Even though she\u2019s become famous, or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[2973,96,25588,2839,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-44953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-comedy","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-judi-dench","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}