And Furthermore (27 page)

With the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I was so surprised to win it for eight quick minutes with bad teeth.

On the set of
Tea with Mussolini
, when Finty brought Sammy out for his first Italian holiday.

With Kevin Spacey, who played my nephew in
The Shipping News.
He is a brilliant mimic with a good ear for other actors’ voices.

Bob Hoskins and I had a terrible time dancing in
Mrs Henderson Presents
. Bob said, ‘The trouble with you is you have hooves instead of feet.’

With Toby Stephens in
The Royal Family
. One night during the run he heard he had got the part of the villain in the next Bond film, and then had to say the line onstage, ‘Oh God, I hate pictures.’

After a performance of
The Breath of Life
with Maggie Smith and a visiting member of the audience who looked familiar.

Ladies in Lavender
, directed by Charles Dance. One critic moaned, ‘This film will only appeal to fans of Maggie Smith and Judi Dench.’

With Jim Broadbent in
Iris
in 2001. He won the Oscar for it, and it was very exciting to be there with him that night.

In
Notes on a Scandal
, as the terrifying schoolteacher Barbara Covett, with Cate Blanchett.

Two strongly contrasting films in 2009.
Nine
, a large-scale musical with an international cast; and
Rage
, shot on a shoestring as a series of monologues filmed against a coloured screen.

My first appearance at the BBC Proms in July 2010, in a concert performed to honour Stephen Sondheim on his eightieth birthday.