Eyes are one of the biggest tools any actor will need when performing, whether that be to communicate with their co-stars or with the audience. Stalwart of stage and screen Judi Dench learned this the hard way when one of her scene partners refused to look her in the eye.
Was it perhaps just a bad case of method acting? An eccentric actor using distance to immerse themselves fully into their character? The likelihood of this is low as Dench said the actor did not practice method acting and never once offered an explanation for the avoidance of eye contact.
This unfortunate event happened right at the beginning of her iconic career, which left a young Dench confused as to why an established name – who was only six years her senior – would try so hard to avoid her eyeline, despite her efforts.
Dench began her career treading the boards in London in the late 1950s, usually with the works of William Shakespeare, who she has described as “the man that pays the rent”.
It was only a year after her debut that she would find herself working opposite the lauded Laurence Harvey in a production of Henry V at the Old Vic.
He was already a widely known name to cinemagoers, having appeared in many films.
In fact, he would be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in John Brayne’s 1959 drama Room at the Top just one year after Henry V at the Old Vic.
Having been a stage actor for an entire decade longer than Dench, this could explain his lack of courtesy towards the young-up-and-coming actor.
In an interview with Cornwall Live, Dench recalled: “Larry Harvey never looked into my face.
“Larry Harvey looked about a foot and a bit above my head all the time. He would never look at me, never.”
Dench admitted she kept craning her neck directly in his direction to “attract his attention,” but despite her efforts to fix the situation, it “never worked”.
There could be another explanation however in that Dench’s height stands at 5ft 1, whereas Harvey stood just over 6ft.
By comparison, he was a whole foot taller than her, so perhaps he was just looking directly in front and she was just not able to meet his eyeline.
That being said, his neck did work so there is a much larger chance he was doing it for some other bizarre reason that meant he couldn’t possibly look downwards at Dench for the duration of their time on Henry V.