And then it was working with Bob Hoskins, who I had never worked with before - except radio. It was like being given a wonderful meal - full of the things you love most.
Because, you know, I can't work a bicycle pump.
I am so thrilled to be nominated for something I loved working on every single day.
I do, but that's my background, really, being at Stratford. I enjoy all that Shakespeare, but it's really whatever comes along.
I don't like reading scripts very much. I like it better for someone to just explain to me what it is about this story.
I don't think anybody can be told how to act. I think you can give advice. But you have to find your own way through it.
I have no control over a film. I don't know what will be left on the cutting floor.
I just feel incredibly lucky to be employed when there are so many actors and actresses who are not employed. That's why, you know, I sometimes feel desperate, in case I'm not going to be cast again.
I love being part of a company, and telling a story.
I need a director terribly badly.
I think you should take your job seriously, but not yourself - that is the best combination.
I think you've got to have your feet planted firmly on the ground, especially in this business, and you must not believe things that are said or written about you, because everything gets out of proportion one way or the other.
I trained as a designer, so I'm always terribly keen about what I'm going to look like.
I was in Yorkshire. We were a family of five and I used to be sent sometimes to get the rations for the week and I was easily able to carry them back. It was like one egg and a tiny bit of tea.
I work out the other bits, too, but I need to know what I look like, very early on. And then it's like a template; I'll fill that person out. If I get that out of the way, then I'm all right.
I would like to work with Jack Nicholson, before it's too late.
I've figured out what to do so far, but it's always the next thing you come to where the man with the bucket of ice cold water is waiting - whoosh! in your face. That's why you work with directors who know what to tell you to do.
In contrast, the control you have in a theatre is very attractive to me.
It actually was a complete departure having a woman playing M. I didn't realize at the time that it would be so noticed.
It is not good to cross the bridge before you get to it.
It is true that there are few plays of Shakespeare that I haven't done.
It was exciting to work with Vin Diesel. I have an audience of 13 year old boys from 007 - maybe with the Van Diesel movie, the age is going up to 17 to 20 now, and maybe I will arrive at an audience aged 60-70 someday.
It was good to learn so early. They're not going to be kind to you. You have to do it and get on, and then gulp down and get better.
It's incredibly moving to hear some of our greatest actors performing Shakespeare.
Michael died five years ago this January, and the first thing that really struck me about the script was the part about her peeling off from the funeral and just getting into a rowboat and having a real kind of cry where nobody was.
Mother was with the Women's Voluntary Service. They'd go down to the station in York and meet troop trains with huge urns of tea and buns, and I remember her coming back often with tins from Americans or Canadians.
My husband was actually very keen that I would become a Bond girl.
People think you know beforehand when you win an Oscar - I can assure you you don't.
Seriously, though, I think I never ceased to be grateful of the fact that I am able to do a job that I really love - I never got over that.
Since Michael died I think I've worked constantly. Friends and colleagues are very sustaining. They're the people who get you through it.... It's no good to be on your own.
Some things you know about, you know what the ingredients are - maybe not all of them. But it's up to you to put in the amount. It's up to the director to nag you until you get it right.
Sometimes nudity is gratuitous. We just live in a society where everything goes.
The blessing is you then - if you're very lucky - you work with people who really know the business of filmmaking.
The Lord Chamberlin was censoring scripts when I first came into the theater.
The more I do, the more frightened I get. But that is essential. Otherwise why would I go on doing it?
The theater is the thing I love doing most.
The thing about not reading scripts and my wanting a director to tell me a story is a risk I need to take. I need that real fear.
Judi's 1999 Oscar was awarded for only four scenes, which amounted to eight minutes on screen, as Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love. To this date it remains the shortest ever performance to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Judi did not get married until she was 36, when she wed fellow Royal Shakespeare Company actor Michael Williams in February 1971.
In 1995, Judi was chosen for the role of a brand new M in the James Bond series.
Judi likes to think of herself more of a stage actress than a television or film star.
Judi remains close friends with Geoffrey Palmer, who played her husband on As Time Goes By for seven seasons.
In 1961, Judi joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Judi has been friends with actress Dame Maggie Smith since 1958.
Judi is one of the associate members of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London.
In July 2005, Judi was voted number one by a "Britain's Finest Actresses" online poll.
Judi was raised as a Quaker.
Judi was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005 for her role in the movie Mrs. Henderson Presents.
Judi has been mentioned in ChuckleVision.
Judi's first stage appearance was as a snail in a play at her Quaker Junior School.
In 2001, Judi won the ShoWest Award for Supporting Actress of the Year.
In 1999, Judi was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for: Shakespeare in Love (1998).
In 2001, Judi & co. were nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for: Chocolat (2000).
In 2001, Judi won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for: Chocolat (2000).
In 2002, Judi was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role for: Iris (2001/I).
In 2001, Judi was nominated for the Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama for: Chocolat (2000).
In 1998, Judi won the OFCS Award for Best Actress for: Mrs. Brown (1997).
In 1998, Judi won the ALFS Award for British Actress of the Year for: Mrs. Brown (1997).
In 1999, Judi won the KCFCC Award for Best Supporting Actress for: Shakespeare in Love (1998).
In 1999, Judi was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for: Shakespeare in Love (1998).
In 2001, Judi won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for: The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000).
In 2002, Judi was nominated for the Audience Award for Best Actress for: Iris (2001/I).
In 2001, Judi was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for: The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000).
Judi is the mother of actress Finty Williams.
In 1998, Judi won the CFCA Award for Best Actress for: Mrs. Brown (1997).
In 1966, Judi won the BAFTA Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for: Four in the Morning (1965).
In 1982, Judi won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for: A Fine Romance (1981). She also won for Going Gently (1981), and The Cherry Orchard (1981).
In 1984, Judi was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for: Saigon: Year of the Cat (1983).
In 1986, Judi was nominated for the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for: Wetherby (1985).
In 1988, Judi was nominated for the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for: 84 Charing Cross Road (1987).
In 1998, Judi was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Comedy Performance for: As Time Goes By (1992).
In 1999, Judi won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for: Shakespeare in Love (1998).
In 2002, Judi was nominated for the BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for The Shipping News (2001).
In 2001, Judi was nominated for the American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication for: The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000).
In 1998, Judi was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Mrs. Brown (1997).
In 2001, Judi was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for: Chocolat (2000).
Judi was made an Honorary Freeman of York in 2001.
Judi studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Judi was awarded with a BAFTA Fellowship in a special tribute ceremony in London in 2001.
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