“How dare he!”: the actor so good that Judi Dench was offended by their talent
As one of the greatest actors of her, or any other, generation, imagine being so good at acting that Judi Dench herself is affronted by how easy they’ve been able to make it look.
It’s usually the other way around, with countless actors over the years confessing that they’ve buckled in the presence of the dame, who belied her small stature by delivering performance after performance that made her feel like she was about ten feet tall, scooping up awards like it’s nobody’s business.
Dench has pitted her performative wits against many of the all-time greats from multiple generations, from Ian McKellen and John Gielgud to Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett, and she even found the time to lend support in a Vin Diesel sci-fi blockbuster, for fuck sake, so she’s been around the block.
Her reputation is also that of someone who takes no shit whatsoever, as Emily Blunt discovered to her detriment and shame at the beginning of her career, and it takes someone special to leave such an impression on Dench that she can barely believe the top-drawer thespianism that she’s seeing.
If you had 100 guesses, or possibly even closer to 1,000, though, it’s doubtful that Steve Coogan would be the first name that came to mind. While he’s a dab hand at drama, he’s best known for his work in the comedy arena, which is exactly why the long-time James Bond staple was so unprepared for what he brought to the table in Stephen Frears’ Philomena.
Dench landed a ‘Best Actress’ nomination at the Academy Awards for her titular turn, with Coogan taking second billing as the reporter who accompanies Philomena Lee on a journey to America to locate the son who was taken from her 50 years previously, which also earned the latter a ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ nod for the script he co-wrote with Jeff Pope.
“He’s a stand-up comic,” Dench remarked, which is true, not that it eliminates him from being able to play it straight. And yet, she remained incredulous that he was so good in the movie. “How dare he be able to do what he did in this film!” she added, with another, “How dare he!” tacked on for added emphasis.
She may have stolen most of the acting plaudits, which is par for the course with a talent of her calibre, but Coogan matched her every step of the way. It sounds like she doubted whether or not he’d be able to raise himself to her level, but Dench was clearly pleasantly surprised and somewhat taken aback that he had.
Coogan’s career-long association with comedy has led to his dramatic chops becoming one of the most underrated weapons in his arsenal, but when you can go toe-to-toe with Judi Dench and play Mick McCarthy in the same career, you must be doing something right.
