M (Dame Judi Dench)

Character

On the GoldenEye mission, many changes have occurred with the MI6, as well as a new and modern headquarters, there is also a female head of MI6. Many agents, especially Bond, would have throughout they were in for a relaxing career, not so, after taking over as Head of MI6, M proved to be even more strict than her predecessor. M posses the same unemotional and non-humorous characteristics as her predecessor, who is also able to strike fear into her agents. Bond considered her a bean counter, only concerned with MI6's funds and resources, Bond soon found out the hard way, M considered him a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur - a relic of the Cold War". M still maintains a high regard for Bond on a professional basis, just like her predecessors.

After admitting Bond is "the best we've got" and relying on him to rescue her in The World Is Not Enough, M reverts to her steely cold mood of GoldenEye in "Die Another day".

After Bond is held captive in North Korea, M no longer trusts him and is worried he might have unwittingly compromised MI6. She calculates Bond's rescue from North Korea too expensive and risky, and leaves him to serve out his sentence.

But she throws Bond a lead after he comes back to MI6 from his jaunt in Cuba, and tips him off to Zao's last known whereabouts: Iceland. M teams up with Falco in a temporary situation room when Graves threatens his Icarus weapon - and sets Bond and Jinx off on his tail.

Biography

Born: 9th December 1934 York England UK

Dame Judi Dench first portrayed the head of British Intelligence in GoldenEye in 1995, returning to that role in Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.

In 1999, Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Shakespeare in Love as well as a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway production of "Amy's View." She received the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire) in 1970 for services to the theatre, and subsequently became a D.B.E. (Dame of the British Empire) in 1988.

Since playing Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Old Vic 40 years ago, Dench has received wide critical acclaim for a career marked by outstanding performances in both classical and contemporary roles. She has won more than 25 awards - including five British Academy Awards ' in a career that has encompassed the stage, television and motion pictures.

Her feature film credits include: Mrs. Brown (for which she won a Golden Globe, BAFTA Award and Oscar nomination), Wetherby, A Room With a View (for which she won a BAFTA Award as Best Supporting Actress), 84 Charing Cross Road, A Handful of Dust (another BAFTA Award-winning performance as Best Supporting Actress) and two films for Kenneth Branagh, Henry V and Hamlet.

More recently, she appeared with an ensemble cast in Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini. Dench won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and was named Best Supporting Actress by the National Society of Film Critics for her performance in the hit romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love.

She continues to work on the London stage, most recently David Hare's "Amy's View." Dench subsequently starred (with Samantha Bond, her co-star "Moneypenny") in that play's recent Broadway production, winning a Tony Award for her performance.