Judi Dench was ‘spoilt’ with Bond role

Dame Judi Dench feels ”spoilt” to have starred in seven James Bond films.

The 78-year-old screen legend starred as no-nonsense MI6 boss M in the British spy franchsie from 1995’s ‘GoldenEye’ until 2012’s ‘Skyfall’, and couldn’t have asked for a better career opportunity.

Asked how she felt when she was told Sam Mendes’ ‘Skyfall’ would be her last 007 film, Dench replied: ”Fury. You know, I had a wonderful time, but you have to be realistic. Would MI6 really not have given me the push by now? I’ve given it a good go. I had four films with Pierce, three with Daniel. Pretty spoilt, I reckon.”

The actress feels blessed to even be cast at all since she has noticed a serious lack of parts available for older women.

She told Time Out magazine: ”There aren’t [enough roles], considering the amount of people who are my age. But then there never have been. Look at Shakespeare: there aren’t enough women parts in Shakespeare. You feel very, very lucky if you get to play any. You feel very lucky indeed.”

Moving forward, the veteran actress hinted she might be focusing on her theatre career, which she has often described as her first love.

Quizzed if theatre was still her favourite medium, she mused: ”I’d say theatre… But I don’t think there’s much between telly and movies. It’s the same process.”