The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia wishes Dame Judi Dench a very Happy Birthday

The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia presents This Day in James Bond Movie History, wishing Dame Judi Dench a very Happy Birthday. Unless you’ve been living in a submarine with no radio, you’d know that Dame Judi has played M in the James Bond series seven times, starting with Pierce Brosnan in “GoldenEye,” and continuing all through the Brosnan era into the first three Daniel Craig films. And she’s been terrific – bringing a sense of stern, no-nonsense, bureaucratic discipline to the role, but not without a strong dose of humanity. When she coldly tells Bond in “GoldenEye” that he’s a sexist, misogynistic dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War, you sense a sea change in the relationship Bond has with his superior. But M is no fool, she knows and appreciates 007’s skills. Her highpoint was “Skyfall,” where the vendetta of villainous Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) strikes close to home. It’s interesting that with all the female heroes in film and television these days, from Wonder Woman and Black Widow to the more recent chess master Beth Harmon in “Queen’s Gambit,” Ms. Dench led the way, breaching the men’s club at MI-6, and smoothing a space in Bond lore forever. Let’s race a glass of bourbon to the Dame on her birthday. Stay safe. .