Dame Judi Dench confesses why she "loathes" being called a "national treasure"
Dame Judi Dench has made an announcement: She hates being called a "national treasure".
She revealed her thoughts about that phrase on David Tennant's podcast David Tennant does a podcast with... on Tuesday.
"I loathe those words. I loathe them," she said.
"It's something very, very dusty behind a glass and in a corner. It's a relic and I don't want to be a relic."
She also explained the kinds of roles she enjoys, as she hates "playing parts" that are expected of her, such as "some old person dying in a chair" and prefers more exciting roles.
She explained: "I hate to play parts that are expected. If a part comes through and it's some old person dying in a chair somewhere, I think 'oh no no, please not that'.
"I want to play somebody who you think is a benign old lady sitting in a chair but in actual fact she's bumping people off. I'm looking for a lot of villains to play. I haven't played enough."
Dench's career has spanned for an amazing 60 years, and has seen her star in countless movies and plays, including the James Bond franchise and Shakespeare in Love.