Behind the Scenes

The Academy Award–winning actress shares personal photographs and anecdotes from her colorful and storied career.

"National treasure? I hate that. Too dusty, too in a cupboard, too behind glass, too staid . . . What I love is being part of a company. On stage I am not trying to be myself, I'm trying to be someone else, the more unlike me the better."

From her first theatrical roles as a teenager in York to her scene-stealing performances as "M" in the James Bond films, Dame Judi Dench's profe...