Judi Dench affectionately called a 'mischief maker' by Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike named Judi Dench the best actress she has ever worked with, praising the Oscar winner’s onstage precision and off-stage sense of fun in an interview that cast Dench as a “mischief maker. ”
Longstanding collaborators on screen and stage
Pike, the Gone Girl star, pointed to several shared projects with Dench: the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, the James Bond movie Die Another Day, and a 2009 stage revival/London production of Madame de Sade. Each credit was raised as part of her account of working alongside the veteran performer.
Pike’s Radio 2 tribute: 'so, so good' and 'so naughty'
Speaking on Radio 2 with Romesh Ranganathan, Pike, 47, called Dench “The best actress I’ve ever worked with is Judi Dench, who’s such a mischief maker. ” She added: “She’s so delightful. She’s so, so good. ” Pike said Dench could switch from “laughing, playing a practical joke” off stage to full character onstage, saying: “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. ”
Judi Dench’s off-stage antics and anecdotes
Pike’s portrait of Dench sits alongside other stories of the actor’s playfulness: Dame Judi once surprised a James Bond co-star with a naked FaceTime (accidentally), and she marked her 81st birthday by getting her first tattoo. Lesley Manville has also described an incident in which she wet herself after Dench deliberately tried to make her laugh from the wings of the stage.
On male co-stars: Christian Bale and method acting
In the same Radio 2 interview, Pike named Christian Bale her favourite male co-star but said his Method approach made him hard to know personally. She called him “another level” and said of their time on the film Hostiles: “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. ” Pike went on to praise what she described as Bale’s deep dedication and the “level of truth, the level of commitment, integrity, truth, ” that he brings to performances.
On hearing Dench read Shakespeare
Pike urged listeners to seek out Dench’s spoken work as an example of her craft: “If you ever just want to just hear something short, listen to Judi Dench read a Shakespeare sonnet, just find one on YouTube, and it will move you to tears – you’ll just think that is how English should be spoken. ”
It is unclear in the provided context what, if any, future collaborations, appearances or events involving Rosamund Pike or Judi Dench are scheduled next.
