When considering Best Actress contenders one name has been dropped from the conversation, “Victoria and Abdul’s” Judi Dench. The Oscar winner and seven-time nominee hasn’t made it to the Dolby Theater since 2014 for “Philomena,” but when she has a starring role she usually has a good chance of being a fixture during the season. So, if she ends up with a SAG Award nomination in a few weeks just remember she’s also one of the few actors who have earned three nominations in one year from her peers in the guild. Keeping all that in mind, after attending the Governors Awards just a few weeks ago Dench returned to the LA area (her visits here are actually rare) to receive the 12th Annual Kirk Douglas Award from the Santa Barbara Film Festival last night.
The evening featured a retrospective of Dench’s career (how often we forget her memorable role opposite Maggie Smith in “A Room with a View”) and speeches from former co-star Armie Hammer (“J. Edgar”), “Santa Barbara icon” Jeff Bridges and her “Victoria” co-star Ali Fazal.
Review: ‘Victoria & Abdul’: Judi Dench elevates Stephen Frears’ feel-good dramedy [Venice]
Fazal’s lovely remarks noted that many of his friends and family in India still believe Dench works for M-I6 (not sure if he was kidding or not, but it got a laugh) and that when they worked together her best advice was “Learn your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.”
Bridges admitted that they two legendary actors had barely met and had never worked together, but that there was “still time”! As he read prepared marks he hilariously kept saying “James Doodie” instead of “Dame Jude” to the delight of the crowd and Dench herself.
Hammer recalled meeting Dench for the first time remarking, “I was intimidated because I’d never met Judi and followed her career and saw her play many powerful women. However, I quickly came to realize that while she is hyper-intelligent and strong willed like those authoritarian figures she’s played, she’s also uncommonly kind, caring and compassionate. She was also one of the first people to hold our then new puppy Archie and refused to put him down for hours while talking about his puppy breath.”
Douglas has not attended the ceremony in person for a number of years now, but he once again taped a video segment where he won the night by whispering to the camera to Dench, “Don’t tell my wife. I’ve had a crush on you for years!” It also turns out Douglas, who will turn an incredible 101, and Dench, who will hit 83, share the same birthday, Dec. 9th (Bridges added his bother Beau was also born on the same day).
When Dench stepped on the podium to receive her award she joked she preferred this singular night to “a very warm ceremony when you’re sitting there and you’re nominated and when someone else is announced you don’t have to do that face where it looks like you’re awfully glad when you’re absolutely livid.” Dench also revealed she’d visited Douglas at his home beforehand and that the award was special to her because of his involvement. Many years before she and her husband Michael, who passed away from cancer in 2001, were in Italy for holiday. It rained non-stop that day and they turned on the TV to find an Italian dubbed version of Douglas’ landmark film “Spartacus.” It turned into a memorable night and was a memory she’d always held dear.
Dench can currently be seen in the aforementioned “Victoria and Abdul” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Murder on the Orient Express.”