On Being 'M': Judi Dench Interviewed

Dame Judi Dench, who is reprising her role as 007's boss 'M' in 'Skyfall', was interviewed by the UK's Sunday newspaper 'The People' on November 13, and gave her thoughts on both the current and previous James Bond actors (Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan), as well as more general reflections on her career in theatre and in film.

It is now 16 years since Judi took on the role of 'M', the head of MI6, and she has now started shooting her seventh 007 movie. She was involved with scenes shot in central London in early November and has now started her Pinewood sequences. At one point in the detailed interview, she said: 'Daniel's an incredible talent and I love working with him - but I still miss Pierce. He was a very warm man and always lots of fun, always laughing and joking. Pierce was great to have around the set. We became close friends. I did four Bonds with him so I missed him after he finished with the role'.

Dame Judi continued: 'There's no comparison between him and Daniel. They're completely different actors but both are brilliant men with a fantastic sense of humour, very self-mocking, which you need to play Bond. But you miss anyone you make a relationship with and you think at some point you'll maybe cross paths again. And I did, with Pierce, in a play. If you get on with somebody well, you never really break that'.

At another point in the interview Dame Judi admitted: 'I suppose I'm a bit like M because there are bits of me in every character I play. But I don't think I'm anywhere near as bossy as she is... I just like playing M - being very, very cross and keeping Bond in order is a lot of fun'.

Looking back on her career, the award-winning star of stage and film reflected: 'I never thought I'd be an actor - I always thought I'd be a theatre designer because I was always drawing and that's what I really wanted to be. I went into acting quite half-hearted really. To be honest, after my first reviews I never thought I'd get another job. They were awful'. She added: 'There's never an end to what you learn. I learn something new every time I step on a set. I'm never really that confident about any films I make - even ones as big as the Bond films. I'm the most under-confident person you could talk to. But with Sam Mendes, who I know very well in a theatre setting, and with the cast and crew we've got together and the terrific story, I don't see how we won't be making the best Bond of all this time'.

Dame Judi, who is proud of her links to London, was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in June 2011 (from the City of London Corporation), and also recently collected a Lifetime Achievement Award from Harper's Bazaar magazine. She was given the prestigious award at the magazine's Women of the Year Awards held at London's famous Claridge's Hotel on Tuesday November 8.