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Vin Diesel once sent Judi Dench a bouquet of flowers so enormous that theater staff couldn't carry it upstairs to her dressing room. The gift was part of his attempt to persuade the Oscar-winning actress to appear alongside him in the 2004 science-fiction film The Chronicles of Riddick. Dench, now 91, revisits the encounter in her new memoir, Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?, published November 3rd. She remembers Diesel visiting her at London's Haymarket Theatre, where she was performing onstage, and presenting her with an unexpected invitation to join his movie. The flowers never made it to her dressing room. They were left at the stage door because the arrangement was too large for the staircase. Dench estimated that the bouquet was roughly the length and width of a kayak. She accepted the role, although she later admitted she had never watched the finished movie. The story isn't entirely new: Dench previously told it during a 2015 conversation with Prince Edward. Her memoir adds details about the flowers, the costumes she wore on set and another actor-director who found an equally personal way to recruit her. Vin Diesel Sent Judi Dench Flowers That Couldn't Fit Up the Stairs Dench was performing at the Haymarket Theatre in London when Diesel approached her about joining The Chronicles of Riddick. The actor had already established himself as an action star through The Fast and the Furious and Pitch Black, but his next project required an actress who could bring something different to the science-fiction sequel. In a passage from her memoir published by Entertainment Weekly on November 4th, Dench recalls Diesel visiting her at the theater after sending the oversized bouquet. The flowers were so large that the staff left them downstairs rather than attempt to squeeze them through the staircase. Dench remembered the arrangement as both exceptionally long and remarkably wide. Her friend and coauthor Brendan O'Hea asked whether the gesture had persuaded her to accept the part. Dench joked that she was easily won over, even as O'Hea teased her about whether she should have been more selective. The story had already surfaced publicly in June 2015, when Dench appeared at St. James's Palace for a charity event hosted by Prince Edward. During their conversation, the prince asked about some of her more unusual film choices. Dench immediately brought up The Chronicles of Riddick, joking about its reception before recounting Diesel's visit. As The Guardian reported at the time, she said the flowers had been too long to carry upstairs and admitted she had never seen the movie. Her remarks came during a conversation about films she had made but rarely watched. Dench explained that she often found it uncomfortable to see herself onscreen because, unlike in the theater, she couldn't return the following night and change her performance. Dench Wasn't Happy With Her First 'Chronicles of Riddick' Wig Dench played Aereon, an ethereal figure who helps guide Diesel's Richard B. Riddick through a universe threatened by the Necromongers. Her appearance was a considerable departure from the historical dramas and James Bond films for which she was already famous. Her costume fittings initially went well. The production team gave her very long white hair and bright blue contact lenses, creating the unusual appearance required for Aereon. But when she arrived for her first day of filming, the original wig had been replaced with something shorter and considerably fuller. In her memoir, Dench compares the unexpected look to Dustin Hoffman's appearance in the 1982 comedy Tootsie. She eventually received the original long-haired wig, although the bright blue contact lenses disappeared from her costume. Dench jokingly suggested that Diesel might have taken them. Director David Twohy has also discussed the unusual circumstances surrounding Dench's casting. In a 2004 interview about the film, Twohy said recruiting her had been Diesel's idea. Twohy explained that the role could have been played by either a man or a woman. While Diesel sent flowers, the director visited Dench's theatrical performances in London. Their combined efforts eventually brought her into the production. Kenneth Branagh Used an Embroidered Handkerchief to Recruit Her Diesel wasn't the only actor to approach Dench with a carefully chosen gift. Kenneth Branagh later used a different gesture when he wanted her to appear in his 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh, who directed the film and played detective Hercule Poirot, gave Dench a handkerchief embroidered with the initials of her character. She was being asked to portray Princess Natalia Dragomiroff, one of the passengers aboard the train. Judi Dench
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