Mike Blake/Reuters
Dame Judi Dench, who, at 88, is one of the most acclaimed British thespians of her generation, has been suffering from a degenerative eye condition that has made it nearly impossible for her to perform her craft. The Academy Award-winning actress revealed as much to the Daily Mirror, saying in a new interview that she is no longer able to see on a movie set or read scripts.
“I can’t see on a film set anymore,” Dench said. “And I can’t see to read. So I can’t see much. But you know, you just deal with it. Get on. It’s difficult for me if I have any length of a part. I haven’t yet found a way. Because I have so many friends who will teach me the script. But I have a photographic memory.”
Despite these impediments, Dench told the Daily Mirror that she wants to work “as much as [she] can” and isn’t planning to retire anytime soon.