Judi Dench said an eye condition has left her unable to read or perform on stage, more than a decade after she was first diagnosed.
“I can’t be on stage. I can’t do a play anymore. I can’t do a film anymore. I can’t read anymore,” Dench, 91, told the BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program Thursday.
The Oscar-winning British actor was diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in 2012, an eye disease that makes it difficult for those affected to see directly in front of them.
In 2024, she told NPR’s “All Things Considered” that the condition had worsened and impacted her ability to work.
“And apart from the fact that I can walk straight past to an old friend, I can act it. And it doesn’t matter — in the great scheme of things, doesn’t matter,” she told “CBS Mornings” at the time.
She told the BBC that she has to “make allowances” for the condition, which has worsened, and “just get on and don’t think about it too much.”
When asked by the BBC’s Emma Barnett how aging is going, Dench had one word in response: “Rubbish.”
“There’s nothing to say for it at all,” she continued. She added that she doesn’t think much about the concept of aging.
Dench, one of Britain’s most revered actors, has a decadeslong career spanning film and theater. She is well known for her work in several Shakespearean plays.
When asked what advice she would give to her younger self, she said that taking risks is good.
“If people say, ‘Oh, this is so like you, you’ve got to play it,’ no, that’s not the one to play,” she said. “For me, always frightening, but that’s part of it.”
“Use the energy, but, just don’t ever take it for granted. ... It’s always work in progress. Always,” she added.