Dame Judi Dench's nervous acting

Dame Judie Dench feels more nervous about acting now than when she started in the industry 54 years ago, which causes her to be ''very reliant'' on a director.

Dame Judi Dench has "worse nerves" now than when she started acting 54 years ago.

The 76-year-old actress - who has starred in 'Notes on Scandal', 'Shakespeare in Love' and a number of James Bond films, including 'Casino Royale' and 'Tomorrow Never Dies' - admits she "never" has confidence in her ability and always has to rely on a director.

She said: "I have worse nerves now, 54 years after entering this business, than when I started. I'm never confident about the work I do and I'm very, very reliant on a director.

"Everything I do, there's always something that jumps up and hits me in the eye."

Despite her nerves, the 'My Week With Marilyn' actress - who admits to being a "great prankster" on the set of her movies - doesn't ever want to quit acting because she thinks the learning process is far too important to leave behind.

She added to The Observer magazine: "If I retire I think I should fall over. You've got to keep learning. I think everybody should take the time to recite two lines of something every day. I've also just taken up Sudoku - bloody difficult, isn't it?"