Actor: Judi Dench

Judi Dench won Best Supporting Actress for Shakespeare in Love, in which she is on screen for roughly eight minutes as Elizabeth I, one of the shortest winning performances on record.

She was a major stage actor for thirty years before film took much notice, and has said the screen career was a late accident.

She played M across seven Bond films, and Skyfall gave her more to do than the role had ever had, effectively making her the film’s second lead.

She has continued working through macular degeneration that has left her unable to read scripts, having them read to her instead, which she has discussed matter-of-factly.