Rosamund Pike says Judi Dench is the best actress she has ever worked with

By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike has said Judi Dench is the best actress she has ever worked with and described the star as a “mischief maker”.

The 47-year old acted alongside Dench in a 2009 London production of Madame de Sade as well as the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day.

She has praised the veteran actress for her being “so delightful” and for her ability to switch into character effortlessly.

Speaking to comedian and radio host Romesh Ranganathan on BBC Radio 2, Pike said: “The best actress I’ve ever worked with is Judi Dench, who’s such a mischief maker.

“She’s so delightful. She’s so, so good.

“If you ever just want to just hear something short, listen to Judi Dench read a Shakespeare sonnet, just find one on YouTube, and it will move you to tears – you’ll just think that is how English should be spoken.

“She’s just amazing and yet, when you’re doing a play with her, she’s so funny, she’s so naughty.

“Off stage, she’s completely out of character, laughing, playing a practical joke, and then she walks on and it’s all there.”

Pike also named American Psycho star Christian Bale as being the best actor she has ever worked with after starring in the 2017 film Hostiles together.

Despite working together on the film, she said she does not know Bale very well as he was often in character, with the star known for his method acting approach.

She said: “He’s another level.

“I can’t say I know him really, but it was just a pretty amazing experience to be around him in a film called Hostiles, but I don’t think I met Christian, I think I only met the character. He’s quite method. He’s very method.”

She continued: “It’s just the level of truth, the level of commitment, integrity, truth. It’s the sort of depth of it all the time.

“I think he just doesn’t give anything away. I think he’s not someone who’s fallen victim to the thing of needing to be liked.

“I don’t think he’s at all interested in his own image in the press or anything. I think he just does the work and has been able to do it since he was very young.

“I think he shuts out all the noise really well and creates the space he needs.

“His performances are just astounding.”

Pike later added that she does not method act, but rather can switch into character at the last minute.

She said: “I’ve seen both ways of total excellence, and I think I can go quite up to the last minute being silly and then switch on.”

Pike is known for starring in the 2014 thriller Gone Girl, 2005 Pride and Prejudice, and 2023’s Saltburn.

She will also star in the West End production of Inter Alia from March 19th until June 20th at Wyndham’s Theatre.