Judi Dench Says She Detests Being Called a National Treasure: 'In My Mind's Eye' I'm 'About 39'

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Andreas Rentz/Getty Judi Dench

Judi Dench is proud of her legacy — but don't call her a national treasure.

The actress sat down for a new interview with The Guardian where she was asked about the moniker she apparently dislikes.

"For one thing," she said, "it's a terrible label. So dusty, so dreary. For another, it relegates me to being an 86-year-old woman. Whereas in my mind's eye I'm 6ft and willowy and about 39."

Dench, 86, went on to explain how she feels suffocated by the label.

"Do you know what it's like? It's like they've picked me up and put me inside a little glass-fronted cabinet," she explained. "Then they've locked the door so I can't get out."

When the interviewer told her to "smash the glass and run amok," Dench said, "Exactly. And f--- being 86 years old."

RELATED: Judi Dench Says Filming TikTok Videos with Her Grandson 'Saved My Life' During Lockdown

Tom Betterton + Jenny Gage

The interview took place shortly after Dench received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which has her feeling hopeful.

The Oscar-winning actress first shared in an interview with the BBC News that she has had one shot of the vaccine and will get the booster dose in several weeks.

"I had one a week ago so I think my next is something like 11 weeks' time, that's a great start!" she said, according to Daily Mail. The United Kingdom became the first Western country to roll out the vaccine in December.

Dench opened up back in July about what life was like for her in lockdown, saying that making TikTok videos with her grandson, Sam Williams, had been a life-saving activity.

"I know nothing about TikTok. Sam is the person who is technically minded and who has all the ideas, so he got very strict," she said in an interview with Channel 4 News at the time.

"He made me do it," Dench added, admitting she "had to rehearse all those moves. Don't just think that comes naturally."

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