It was only recently that Dame Judi Dench was finally written out of the James Bond movies, a franchise in which she had played the well-liked M since 1995's GoldenEye. While fans remember her role well, she recently revealed there is one detail those fans often get wrong: The number of big screen James Bond adventures she actually appeared in. In case you are one of the people who happened to be counting wrong, Judi Dench is technically in eight big screen ventures, not seven. She recently revealed:
I did eight actually. Everyone says seven. But I did do a morning on Spectre. I've never seen Spectre, yet, but they brought me back and there was a little bitty television thing, and so I did do that on it. So, I think, 'Well, I actually did eight.'
Judi Dench plays M in GoldenEye, as well as the subsequent movies starring Pierce Brosnan which are Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is not Enough and Die Another Day. She was so popular that when Daniel Craig took over, Dench stuck around, appearing in Casino Royal, Quantum of Solace and having an important role in Skyfall. However, although the appearance was uncredited in Spectre, she did get to spend a day on the set of the movie, happily filming a small scene that helped to move the plot forward. She's counting it, and in her opinion, we should too. Luckily for her, it's hard to say no or even disagree with a Dame who has been a working actress for more than sixty years. That's not an exaggeration by the way. She played Ophelia in Hamlet back in the late 1950s at the Old Vic in London, which was and still is one of the most famous theaters in the world.
Speaking to Deadline's The Actor's Side, Judi Dench had quite a bit to say about her years as an actress and about her Bond gig, which also included voice work for various video games. She also noted that she thinks it was definitely time to give up the role, mentioning she feels MI-6 "would've given her the push" by now. However, Judi Dench's M is still one of the most well-known and beloved characters in the James Bond universe, so she certainly left on a high note, even if her character was (spoiler alert) killed off in the franchise rather than like, retiring off into the sunset or whatever.
Currently, the Bond universe is prepping for Bond 25, which doesn't have an official title, yet. After hemming and hawing a bit, Daniel Craig did sign on for at least one more go at the character, so that's one detail about the new movie we can absolutely confirm for you. The latest flick is also scheduled for 2019. While we do have a while to wait before Bond 25 hits theaters -- it also doesn't have a director yet -- you can check out what is on the schedule for 2018 with our full premiere guide.
