DAME JUDI DENCH has revealed that she has previously “threatened” Kenneth Branagh over his unique techniques on the set of their collaborations.
On Wednesday night’s episode of The One Show, Dame Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds joined Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas to discuss Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming feature film Belfast. After discussing what fans can expect from the film and how the cast and crew felt on set, Dame Judi revealed her close relationship with Kenneth and how she “teased” him for a long time about unique acting and directing techniques.
After discussing the film, Alex asked: “As Ciaran said, Kenneth Branagh directed it, now Dame Judi, I know that you directed Kenneth before.
“And he would sometimes not listen and change some of the lines. Now did you get him back?”
“I got him back eventually,” Judi said, laughing at her remark. “I directed two things for him, Look Back in Anger and Much Ado.”
“They went on tour, and one night after much ado, I went to give them notes, and he left.” He left the theatre, I believe in costume, and never received the notes.
“I didn’t have to do it on this, but I always kind of held it over him threatened him with it, I’ll go ‘I’ll walk out on you any minute’.”
Jermaine then proceeded to inquire about Ciaran’s work with Dame Judi, bringing up a tiger mask she was wearing during their first meeting.
“Myself, Jamie Dornan, and Caitriona Balfe were already assembled around a very wide table due to Covid,” Ciaran reflected on the meeting.
“Judi arrived on time, wearing a ferocious-looking, snarling tiger’s mask, and we were all just there!”
“Basically it meant she means business as soon as she came through the door!”
Judi turned to Ciaran and continued: “And I gave you some, didn’t I? You all had them as well they had badges and boxes!”
Describing their time together, Ciaran said: “We grew very close very quickly due to the circumstances!”
Alex laughed at their interaction and exclaimed: “We need to see some behind the scenes footage of this, I think.”
Kenneth Branagh recently discussed the filming of Belfast and how the coronavirus quarantine aided him in writing the script.
He admitted to Sky News that he agonized for “about 50 years” over how to approach the sensitive subject.
“I didn’t want to be staring at my own navel for too long.” “It wasn’t individual therapy,” he clarified. “It was really to see if there was a story about a family who was in a bad situation.”
“Where humour and all the other coping mechanisms we devise to deal with difficult times could be heard by others.”
This lockdown aided that, I believe, because our collective introspection and sense of unease brought me back to that period.”
The film, which stars Caitriona Balfe, Dame Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, and 12-year-old Jude Hill, is expected to be a frontrunner at this year’s BAFTA and Academy Awards.
The film is told through the eyes of a child, bringing a great deal of warmth to a tumultuous period in Anglo-Irish history.
Kenneth added, “I wanted to try and embody a simple message of – without being too hippy-dippy about it – that you can be who you are, and who you are probably doesn’t change a great deal.”
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