The one thing Judi Dench hates about young actors

(Credits: Far Out / Caroline Bonarde Ucci)

Fri 13 June 2025 8:30, UK

We live in an era where some actors are completely unserious about their craft. Some brag about their disinterest in the medium as a whole, talking about how they can’t sit through a whole film and don’t watch movies at all, while some stain the industry by starring in the worst projects possible. It’s a strange blend between people who care deeply about their craft and the art of storytelling, and others who are simply motivated by the size of a pay cheque.

While the likes of Robert Downey Jr and Chris Pratt are earning hundreds of millions for roles in terrible franchises and original pieces of slop from the Russo Brothers, there are crew members and editors who are paid close to minimum wage to work alongside them, highlighting a gross disparity in the industry and the highlighting the revealing attitude of some who don’t care about what they make, but how rich it makes them.

This is something that Judi Dench despaired over when discussing the current state of the industry and certain actors who simply aren’t worth their salt, describing something she hates most about some younger actors who work in a very different way from how things used to be. 

Dench is an icon of the British film industry, with decades of credits in movies like Pride and Prejudice, the James Bond series and countless Shakespeare productions. As a result, she has a diverse range of credits that have given her experience in every aspect of the performing arts, giving her the authority to reflect on the changes that have occurred in the industry.

Dench disparaged over the many plays and television shows she has watched in which she cannot understand what people are saying, discussing the lack of pronunciation in one BBC drama called Jamaica Inn. When talking about her qualms with the show, Dench said, “I know [the drama was based in] Cornwall, but it was ridiculous. Often I want to shout out, ‘Will you say that again because I can’t hear!’ It is an apathy, laziness. If you’re not going to be heard, then stay at home and do it in your living room. It doesn’t require shouting, it requires learning about it and learning where your voice comes from, where your diaphragm is and how to use it.”

It is true that there have been many recent productions in which it is increasingly difficult to hear what the people on screen are saying, perhaps as a result of actors with less formal training or due to uneven sound design that drowns every line of dialogue in sound effects. But for Dench, this is simply unforgivable, with no excuse to justify saying words that people cannot understand, and something that breaks the old golden rules when it comes to the craft.

Acting might be evolving in ways that we cannot understand, but Dench has a point that this doesn’t mean we should hear things we cannot understand, with the art of pronunciation becoming a relic of the past. Maybe people could learn a thing or two from the acting titans who ruled the stage, with a more precise approach that could be infused into modern filmmaking practices.

Related Topics