Dame Judi Dench is considered to be one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, including several of Shakespeare’s plays.

However, it was a Shakespearean role in a film about the Bard that won her film’s most coveted award – the Oscar (she also won the BAFTA). Playing Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love (1999) for only a few minutes earned her the Best Supporting Actress statue. In her acceptance speech she said “I feel for eight minutes on the screen, I should only get a little bit of him.” Her understated take on the monarch does set much of the film’s plot in motion.

Dame Judi signed my sketch through the post and sent me a nice complimentary letter.