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Dame Judi Dench has revealed the one part she always wished she’d had the chance to play.
Troilus and Cressida, which is thought to have been written around 1602, is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays.” Set during the Trojan war, it blends romance, comedy and tragedy. Cressida has been portrayed by a number of notable actors, including Helen Mirren who took on the role in a 1968 production for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
In a new interview with People, 91-year-old Dench refers to the role as one that got away, and says she’d always found the character intriguing.
She also reflected on her lengthy career, saying: “My earliest ambition was to become a ballerina, but when my father pointed out I’d have to retire by the time I was 40, I decided it probably wasn’t for me.”
Dench is currently promoting her memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run For It?, which is set to be published on November 3.
Dame Judi Dench says she’d have loved to have played Cressida in Shakespeare’s ‘Troilus and Cressida’ (AFP/Getty)
Earlier this month, the Oscar-winning actor announced that she is no longer able to work due to her worsening eye condition.
She was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, and it has increasingly made everyday activities difficult and posed heartbreaking obstacles to her profession.
She opened up about the condition in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today program, stating: “I can’t be on stage. I can’t do a play anymore. I can’t do a film anymore. I can’t read anymore.”
Dench, who stressed the importance of radio in her life, said: “You’ve got to adjust to all that, and make allowances for it. and just get on and don’t think about it too much.”
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The actor also said she sometimes approaches people and “gives them almost a hug” before apologizing when she gets closer as she realises they’re not who she thought they were. She added that she could not see interviewer Emma Barnett’s face “at all.”
She also expressed sadness over not being able to see the color blue, telling Barnett: “They said this summer was absolutely sensational with bluebells; I couldn’t see one. But I know what my trees look like, and part of it is in my memory and part of it is about hopefully what I can make out.”
When asked about her views on aging, Dench commented: “There’s nothing to say for it at all. [I] don’t think about it too much.”