It’s honestly hard to picture Dame Judi Dench, an absolute acting legend who carries herself with so much grace, as a childhood prankster. But long before she ruled Hollywood and became M, James Bond‘s boss, from 1995 to 2015, she was just a fun kid pulling pranks on her neighbors.
In a recent podcast appearance, the 91-year-old actress shared a wild childhood anecdote in which she just followed her brothers’ order, even if it meant putting a dead rat in her neighbor’s letterbox.
Backyard Cricket Rivalry Triggered Judi Dench’s Wild Prank
Appearing as a guest on BBC’s This Natural Life podcast, the Oscar-winning actress shared a very funny and slightly disgusting piece of family history. Before going into detail, she put a little disclaimer, saying, “This is a terrible story.”
Related: A Deleted Scene And A Forgotten Gift By James Ivory Left Judi Dench Furious
The story revolves around Judi Dench, who played cricket in the backyard and often hit the ball into the neighbor’s gardens. Turns out, one of them belonged to a very strict woman named Miss Lazenby, who had no tolerance for children’s games and would never throw or return a ball to them.
Unable to receive the balls, the siblings decided to turn the neighborhood rivalry into pure passive aggressiveness. The idea of paying back the offended neighbor came to them when they found a dead mouse in their barn.
“Once the boys found a dead rat in the barn, and they parceled it up, and they said to me, ‘Judi, will you just go round and put this through Miss Lazenby’s door?’” she continued. Additionally, they attached a note with the rat, pleading with the lady to return their ball. Heavy sarcasm, you can say.
“So I did go and squeeze it through Miss Lazenby’s door,” admitted Dench, who was just obliging to her brother’s wishes. While the kids, “probably” didn’t get the cricket ball back, as Dench later revealed, it makes for a hilarious story.
Dench’s Love For Theater Persists Amid Health Complications
The story offers a fun side of Dench that most fans already know of. The actress is known for her fun personality and on-set pranks on co-stars. She may have transitioned from a fun little girl to a great artist who has won an Oscar and a Tony during her seven-decade-long career.
In Case You Missed It: The Sweet Reason Sam Neill Never Became James Bond Despite Auditioning
But she has kept her witty personality intact after all these years and accolades. These days, she’s facing several difficulties, including her inability to perform demanding acting roles because of age-related macular degeneration.
Additionally, she has revealed her experience of short-term memory loss during an interview in December last year to mark her 91st birthday. “I can’t remember what I am doing tomorrow, I swear to you,” Dench told Radio Times, while being grateful for still being able to remember Shakespeare’s great reams.
Still, her passion for the theatre persists. She was “overwhelmed” at the news that London’s Shaftesbury Theatre had been renamed in her honor. “My relationship to the Theatre of Comedy and to the Taffner family goes back many years and to have this beautiful theatre renamed after me is truly overwhelming,” she said.
“Live theatre continues to be so important as a way of telling stories and entertaining audiences, something I have aimed to do all my working life.” Be it her iconic roles or fun childhood stories, Judi Dench is an absolute legend.
You Might Also Like To Read: “It Became More Calculated”: Jason Segel On The 2014 Film That Made Him Fall Out Of Love With Comedy
