Movies: Great Performances: Class Is In Session

(2 of 4)

Dench: Oh, I don't know that it was harder than Lady Macbeth, for me. Or Cleopatra. But there are aspects of it ... My husband--when he was alive--and I did Mr. and Mrs. Nobody. We were playing [a married couple] the Pooters. I remember we said, "Oh, this is going to be an absolute breeze." But it was one of the hardest things we've ever done. We were absolutely shattered. So, always, I go into something thinking, Oh yes, I think I know how I'm going to do this, and that's the moment that somebody just round the corner with a bucket of ice-cold water dashes it in your face. Because you suddenly find this is something you don't know how to do.

CATE, YOUR HUSBAND'S A PLAYWRIGHT. DO YOU TWO TALK ABOUT WORK A LOT?

Blanchett: I talk about everything with him. I think some women have their girlfriends and then they have their relationship with their husband, whereas he's the whole bag of tricks for me. He's the first person I've been with that I've actually been able to discuss work with. I think there's an intimacy, almost this weird superstitious connection, that you have with your work, where you can't voice certain things in case you demystify it. So then to actually speak to someone with whom you have a great intimacy, it's very revealing. Almost too revealing. It's a very big confidence. His criticism is always constructive, and I always seek it. He will watch me in a way and is invested in me in a way that no one else is. But don't tell my agent I said that.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH JUDI? DID SHE MAKE YOU CALL HER DAME JUDI?

Blanchett: Yes. Repeatedly. [Laughs] No, it was brilliant. Brilliant. I don't know what to say. Judi is an astonishing actor who has an incredible economy and an extraordinary technique and this mercurial ability to make it seem utterly effortless. And she's wickedly funny. And has a very big gambling problem.

WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?

Dench: That's about my big gambling problem! [Laughs]

WHAT WERE YOU GAMBLING ON?

Both: Anything!

Blanchett: Anything that moved. The slugs in the garden.

DID YOU WIN BIG?

Dench: Sometimes lost, sometimes won.

AND HOW WAS WORKING WITH CATE?

Dench: I wanted to do the part because Cate was playing Sheba. And she knows, because I've said it out loud in front of a lot of people. My admiration for her is absolutely unbounded. And we had a lot of laughs, which is always good. You have to be able to send yourself up, in order to get to something that is of substance.

DID YOU EVER DISAGREE ON HOW TO PLAY A SCENE?

Blanchett: I was constantly telling Judi what to do and how to play each scene, and she just wouldn't listen. And consequently, she's been nominated for a Golden Globe!

DID YOU GIVE EACH OTHER ...

Dench: Notes? All the time. On being taller.

NOW, ABOUT YOUR LOOK IN THE FILM, JUDI ...

Dench: Terrific. Think it'll catch on?

Blanchett: She couldn't stand too near a naked flame, otherwise her entire wardrobe would go up in smoke [all crack up]. Those pants were quite extraordinary.

Dench: Let's put it this way, there wasn't much at the end of filming that I asked if I could buy.

AND THAT HAIR. NOT YOURS, RIGHT?