Judi Dench's 'Naughty' Side Made Her Rosamund Pike's Favourite Co-Star
Rosamund Pike has named judi dench the best actress she has ever worked with, praising the veteran as “such a mischief maker” and recalling their collaborations on stage and screen. Pike, 47, made the remarks in an interview with Romesh Ranganathan on Radio 2 while reflecting on shared projects and colleagues.
Judi Dench as mischief maker
Pike was unequivocal: “The best actress I’ve ever worked with is Judi Dench, who’s such a mischief maker, ” she said, adding, “She’s so delightful. She’s so, so good. ” That praise followed years of collaborations: the two appeared together in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, in the James Bond film Die Another Day, and in a 2009 stage revival of Madame De Sade, described elsewhere as a 2009 London production of Madame de Sade.
Pike onstage memories
Pike painted a picture of Dench’s off-stage persona and stage professionalism in the same breath. “She’s just amazing and yet, when you’re doing a play with her, she’s so funny, she’s so naughty. Off stage, she’s completely out of character, laughing, playing a practical joke, and then she walks on and it’s all there, ” Pike said.
Off-stage pranks and anecdotes
The interviews and profiles that prompted Pike’s comments also recalled a string of mischievous episodes associated with Dame Judi. Examples cited include surprising a James Bond co-star with a naked FaceTime, an incident described as accidental, and marking her 81st birthday by getting her first tattoo. Another co-star, Lesley Manville, has admitted she once wet herself while working with Dame Judi after Dench deliberately tried to make her laugh from the wings of the stage.
Christian Bale and Hostiles
Pike also named a favourite male co-star: Christian Bale. “He’s another level, ” she said. Pike described working with Bale on the film Hostiles as “a pretty amazing experience, ” but added that his Method approach meant she did not get to know him personally in the usual way: “I can’t say I know him really, but it was just a pretty amazing experience to be around him in a film called Hostiles. But I don’t think I met Christian, I think I only met the character. He’s quite method. He’s very method. ”
Expanding on Bale’s craft, Pike praised the depth of his commitment: she highlighted “the level of truth, the level of commitment, integrity, truth, ” and said the depth of his technique meant he “doesn’t give anything away, ” is not driven by public image, “does the work, ” and creates the space he needs to deliver performances she called “just astounding. ”
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Pike contrasted Bale’s immersive technique with her own working method, saying she has “seen both ways of total excellence” and that she can “go quite up to the last minute being silly and then switch on. ” The wider coverage also referenced the Oscar-winning status of the acting legend Pike described, and recommended hearing Dench read a Shakespeare sonnet as an example of her power to move an audience and of “how English should be spoken. ”
Those remarks — part admiration, part anecdote — underline why Pike chose Judi Dench as her favourite female co-star, citing both the veteran performer’s craft and a playful off-stage personality that has left an impression on colleagues across film and theatre.
