Dame Judi Dench has reflected on the disastrous 2019 big-screen adaptation of Cats in her new book.
The acting icon played Old Deuteronomy in the critically-panned and universally-mocked Tom Hooper film, alongside an all-star cast that included Idris Elba, Sir Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift.
In her forthcoming memoir, Is It Too Late To Make A Run For It?, Dame Judi lamented the film’s poor reception, which she said was a particular shame given how long its creator, Andrew Lloyd Webber, had waited to bring the musical to life on screen.
“What a waste of all that goodwill and talent,” she wrote, before admitting that while she’d never seen the finished film all the way through herself, she understood that “critics were rather hostile” towards it.
“All I’ll say is nobody sets out to give a poor performance or make a bad film,” she continued. “You do your best, offer something up and hope that people will get on board and join the party.”
The former James Bond actor added: “It’s a miracle that anything is ever made – films, plays, TV – let alone turn out to be a success, because there are so many moving parts.”
Dame Judi explained that sometimes things just don’t align to make the perfect film, and it’s not one specific person’s fault.
She noted: “People’s intentions are mostly honourable. There were no villains in the making of Cats. And if something isn’t a success, then there are always things you can say you’ve learnt.”
This isn’t the first time the acting legend has spoken up about the failure of Cats, though.
In 2020, she told British Vogue how much she disliked her costume when she saw it for the first time on screen, describing it as “like five foxes fucking on my back”.
Although she has never seen the fully completed film, she didn’t like how they changed her “battered, mangy old cat” character into “a great big orange bruiser”.
“What’s that about?” she questioned.
Her co-star Sir Ian McKellen also admitted he had never seen the final cut, although he insisted he had “a lovely time” making it.
“I haven’t actually seen the complete version of the film – I saw it before we had ears and tails put on. It probably would’ve been better if they hadn’t had those additions,” he joked in 2024.
The show’s composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has also been vocal in criticising the adaptation.
Back in 2021, he told Variety that “the whole thing was ridiculous,” and “off-the-scale all wrong” and said the experience left him so “emotionally damaged” he bought a dog in order to recover.
