British film and television icon Dame Judi Dench has made the heartbreaking admission that she now struggles to see on film sets.
The 88-year-old actor is one of the UK's most beloved stars, having won six BAFTA awards over the course of her legendary career. However, nowadays Dench relies on friends to help read her scripts due to the deterioration of her eyesight.
In an interview with the Sunday Mirror, the Academy Award winner said: "I can’t see on a film set anymore, and I can’t see to read. But you just deal with it."
Dench added: "It’s difficult if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory."
Most recently receiving the latest of her eight Oscar nominations for Belfast in 2021, Dench has been very open about how macular degeneration has affected her career but says she will continue to work despite her ongoing health issues.
"I have an irrational fear of boredom. That’s why I now have this tattoo that says carpe diem. That’s what we should live by," the eight-time Olivier winner explained during the interview.
Dench was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012 and was forced to give up driving several years ago when her eyesight began to worsen. She has previously said of the condition: "It’s the most terrible shock to the system. Ghastly. It’s terrible to be so dependent on people."
Despite the past decade providing such challenges, Dench has continued to prove herself as one of the greatest actors of all time, whether it be through her various showings as M in the James Bond franchise or in Oscar-nominated performances in Philomena and the aforementioned Belfast.
The Shakespeare In Love star also received Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations in 2016 for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in Victoria and Abdul, as well as her record-breaking eighth Olivier Award for Best Actress In A Supporting Role in A Winter's Tale.
Dench has also been keen to highlight the support of her partner, the conservationist David Mills, whom she has been with since 2010.
"I’ve had many, many good friends, but it’s been very unexpected to have somebody who is as caring as my partner, David. Someone to be able to share things with … I feel very lucky indeed. And to laugh with somebody is terribly important. We laugh about everything," she said.
Across a career that has spanned a remarkable eight decades, Dench has cemented herself as an icon of stage and screen with towering performances in the likes of Mrs. Brown, Chocolat, Shakespeare In Love, Iris, Mrs Henderson Presents, Notes On A Scandal, and The Shipping News. In the UK the 88-year-old is also beloved for her role in TV sitcom As Time Goes By, in which she starred opposite the late Geoffrey Palmer.
On stage, Dench has also amassed a jaw-dropping collection of awards, with a Tony and eight Oliviers.
