【2003 Archives】

Dame Judi Dench003 Archivesa living legend, and she's just made history as the oldest star to grace the cover of British Voguein its 104-year history. But we want to hear about Cats.

At 85 years old, Dench takes the crown from fellow actor Jane Fonda, who appeared on the magazine's cover at 81. In an interview published online Monday, Dench talked to features director Giles Hattersley about her illustrious career, keeping herself amused during the current pandemic, and most importantly, how she felt about playing Old Deuteronomy in Cats.

"The cloak I was made to wear!" Dench exclaimed during the interview. "Like five foxes f**king on my back."

It's been previously revealed that Dench hasn't seen Tom Hooper's film in full, but she told Vogueshe was not pleased at how her character looked in photos she'd seen. "A battered, mangy old cat," she described her character. "A great big orange bruiser. What’s that about?"

So, how is Dench, who lives in the UK, coping in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic? That is, apart from filming delightfully uplifting Twitter videos on her daughter's phone and doing TikTok dance challenges with her grandson. "I am sure I feel like everyone else, such unprecedented times are quite hard to comprehend," she explained.

"What is a good thing is that it has made people aware of the predicament of others who are completely alone," she added. "If a great deal of kindness comes out of this, then that will be a plus."

Any plans to retire sometime soon?

"No, no, no, no. Don’t use that word, Giles. Not in this house. Not here. Wash your mouth out!" she told interviewer Hattersley. True to theatrical form, Dench then quoted the poet Dylan Thomas.

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light," she said. "Never was a truer word spoken."

Read the full feature in the June issue of Vogue available via digital download and on newsstands May 7.

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