Why Dame Judi Dench 'loathes' being a national treasure

Dame Judi Dench has revealed she hates being called a "national treasure". Photo / Getty Images

Dame Judi Dench "loathes" being a national treasure.

The 85-year-old actress hates being referred to in this way as she feels it sounds like "something very, very dusty, behind a glass".

Asked if she feels pressure as a national treasure, she said: "No, no, no. I loathe that word ... It's something very, very dusty, behind a glass, in a corner. I don't want to be a relic ..."

"You know, you just get on with life, don't you? And hope that the job you've chosen to do you do as well as you can. That's all you worry about. And be kind to people.

"That's what's so wonderful about this lockdown ... is people's amazing kindness. The general public are very, very kind. And to each other."

And Judi loves playing villains because people don't expect her in these roles.

She added: "I hate to play parts that are expected ... I want to play somebody who you think is a benign old lady sitting in a chair, and in actual fact is bumping people off. I'm looking for a lot of villains to play."

The Cats star started her career as a stage actress and never thought she'd move on to films as she was told she "didn't have the face" for movies.

Speaking on David Tennant Does A Podcast With ..., she said: "I never wanted to make a film at all, ever, and was told I wouldn't because I had the wrong kind of face to make films ... That was when I was at The Vic. I only ever wanted to do Shakespeare and be in the theatre.

"That's all, except that I trained as a theatre designer before that. That's what I originally wanted to be. I think there's no substitute for the theatre. When you've done a film, that's it. You can't change it. Then you go to see it and you're irritated intensely about the fact of the buttons that you chose to push to do that part.

"And you think 'Oh, what a chance missed' ... But in the theatre, you can go on until you get it right, sometimes, if you're lucky."