The actor who “bewitched” Judi Dench
Judi Dench is an icon, there’s no doubt about that. Her status as an acting legend was solidified back in her theatre days, but since becoming a star of the screen – something buoyed by her role as M in the James Bond franchise – she has become not just a Hollywood star but a British cultural institution.
Dench has worked with countless other icons in her time, with one of her early movie roles in 1968’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream seeing her appear alongside fellow British acting royalty Helen Mirren. While Mirren continued to delve into the world of cinema from this point on, Dench was set on staying in the theatre, but soon the call of the silver screen was too hard to ignore.
The actor has subsequently lent herself to movies that have included acting icons ranging from Sophia Loren to Leonardo DiCaprio, but there was one star in particular that she was absolutely blown away by. In fact, she was “bewitched”.
It was 2005, and Dench was cast as the slightly terrifying Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice. The character is one of the thorniest in Jane Austen’s beloved tale, and Dench brought a strong sense of poise (and intimidation) to the part, which worked incredibly well. While her performance was great, she acknowledged how incredible the rest of the cast were, too, who represented a fine display of young new talent.
The five Bennet sisters were played by Talulah Riley, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, Rosamund Pike, and Keira Knightley, which was certainly an impressive display of young acting chops, but it was the latter in particular, playing the iconic heroine Elizabeth, who really blew Dench’s socks off. Just 20 years old at the time of filming, Knightley did a fantastic job at playing the headstrong protagonist who is a little bit more proud (and prejudiced) than she intends, leading to various miscommunications before she eventually marries everyone’s favourite repressed love interest, Mr Darcy.
“My goodness, there’s talent around. Crikey. I was bewitched by Keira Knightley,” Dench told Backstage. “And they won’t take our place; they’ll be their own people.”
Knightley’s appearance in Pride and Prejudice came after she had already kick-started her career with a role in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace when she was just 14, which subsequently led to more big franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course, the holiday classic Love Actually.
Her career moved fast, but if Dench’s reaction to working with Knightley on Pride and Prejudice is anything to go by, then it seems like she had some magical kind of acting power built in from a young age. The fact that Knightley had starred in two huge franchises and had roles in various other well-received movies before she was even 20 years old is deeply impressive.
When Dench met her, she knew that Knightley would continue to go far, and indeed she has. Knightley is known as being as quintessentially British a star as they come, much like Dench herself. It doesn’t feel far-fetched to see Knightley becoming a Dench-like figure as she grows older and enters the later stages of her career.
