'What a waste of talent': Judi Dench delivers withering verdict on the one film she regrets making

Judi Dench has shared her very candid thoughts on the one film she regrets making so much, she refused to watch the final cut.

The film in question is the 2019 adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. The actress took the role of Old Deuteronomy in the movie, which was universally panned by critics.

One of the biggest financial flops in modern cinema history, Cats ended up costing Universal Pictures millions in lost revenue.

In a hurry to complete it in time for its Christmas release, director Tom Hooper failed to notice some huge CGI errors, including one scene showing Judi Dench’s character with a human hand, complete with wedding ring.

In her upcoming memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, Judi remarks that after Andrew Lloyd Webber had waited so long for the film to become a reality, it ended up being "a waste of goodwill and talent."

"Oh God, I can’t bear it," she writes when recalling the movie, adding, "I understand the critics were rather hostile to the film. I never saw the final cut so I can’t judge."

She continues, "All I’ll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film. You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board and join the party."

Saying that, she says she felt "ill at ease from the beginning" portraying Old Deuteronomy, suggesting, "I just didn’t feel right in the role."

The star also makes criticisms of how the how the extras were treated on set, with young dancers "left hanging at the end of each take," where they'd "stand there exhausted and be completely ignored."

While she regrets being a part of the film, Judi does refuse to pin the blame for its terrible box office performance on any one person, saying, "There were no villains in the making of Cats."

She writes that people's intentions are usually "honourable" when it comes to such productions, sharing, "If something isn’t a success, then there are always things you can say you’ve learned.

"Sometimes things just don’t work out: the timing’s wrong, the cast don’t gel, the elements don’t coalesce."

During a 2020 interview with Vogue, the actress made the most shocking revelation about her costume for the film.

"The cloak I was made to wear!" she said, adding, "Like five foxes f**king on my back." When looking at still from Cats, Judi said of Old Deuteronomy that the character looked like "a battered, mangy old cat," and "a great big orange bruiser."

However, it appears not everyone hated it, and the actress had a message from a fellow actor who'd really enjoyed the film.

"I had a very nice email… no, not an email, a text, from Ben Whishaw, who just doted on it," she shared, concluding, "So sweet. So lovely."