Judi Dench Says Her 'Cats' Character is Transgender

Judi Dench is the first woman to play the role of Old Deutoronomy in the musical Cats and now she says the character is transgender.

The 85-year-old actress was actually supposed to appear in the West End stage production of Cats in 1981, but she has to drop out when she snapped her achilles tendon.

“Its glorious to have been included in it, I must say,” Judi told Out about being included in the movie version. “[It was] nerve wracking, because all I can hear is Brian Blessed all the time in the production that I wasn’t able to be in.” (Blessed played Old Deutoronomy in the stage show)

Judi says that it was “totally unexpected” to play the traditionally male role. She added, “I kind of call it ‘trans Deuteronomy,’ is the part for me, you know.”

READ MORE: ‘Cats’ Movie vs. ‘Cats’ on Broadway – 5 Major Differences!