--- description: Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman admits to being starstruck by Judi Dench title: Dustin Hoffman Smitten by Judi Dench image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75f2856065e3746/69876acaa988caf2a76aaf62/458865696.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dustin Hoffman Smitten by 'Scrumptious' Judi Dench by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 6:28 AM CUT  Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench attend Roald Dahl's Esio Trot VIP red-carpet screening on Nov. 12, 2014, in London Dustin Hoffman and Judi Dench attend Roald Dahl's Esio Trot VIP red-carpet screening on Nov. 12, 2014, in LondonNicky J Sims—Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 25, 2014 6:28 AM CUT Hollywood actor Dustin Hoffman [admits to being starstruck](http://news.yahoo.com/dustin-hoffman-wants-love-story-judi-dench-021721553.html "undefined") by Judi Dench, after the actors appeared alongside one another in the BBC adaptation of Roald Dahl’s _Esio Trot_. Hoffman, 77, described Dench, who is two years his senior, as a “scrumptious-looking woman.” “I said to Judi, ‘If I met you then, I wouldn’t have let you get away,'” said Hoffman as quoted by Agence France-Presse. He appears in _Esio Trot_ as a bachelor in love with his neighbor, played by Dench, who seems to be more inclined toward her pet tortoise. Hoffman, who rose to stardom playing an awkward love-struck youth in late Mike Nichols masterpiece _The Graduate_, was hopeful of doing “a love story where we meet in our 20s but yet we’re acting as we are now.” _Esio Trot_ is being adapted by British screenwriter Richard Curtis, whose previous work includes the acclaimed romantic comedies _Notting Hill_ and _Four Weddings and a Funeral._ His latest opus is scheduled to be screened over Christmas. Among all the characters of his films, Curtis said last month, the couple played by Hoffman and Drench in _Esio Trot_ were “most likely to stay together.” \[[_AFP_](http://news.yahoo.com/dustin-hoffman-wants-love-story-judi-dench-021721553.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3604304/dustin-hoffman-judi-dench-richard-curtis-movies-roald-dahl-esio-trot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3604304/dustin-hoffman-judi-dench-richard-curtis-movies-roald-dahl-esio-trot/"},"headline":"Dustin Hoffman Smitten by 'Scrumptious' Judi Dench","datePublished":"2014-11-25T06:28:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:21:14.263Z","description":"\"I wouldn't have let you get away,\" said Hoffman of Dench","url":"https://time.com/3604304/dustin-hoffman-judi-dench-richard-curtis-movies-roald-dahl-esio-trot/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75f2856065e3746/69876acaa988caf2a76aaf62/458865696.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75f2856065e3746/69876acaa988caf2a76aaf62/458865696.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Roald Dahl's \"Esio Trot\" VIP Red Carpet Screening","caption":"Roald Dahl's \"Esio Trot\" VIP Red Carpet Screening","creditText":"Nicky J Sims—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3604304/dustin-hoffman-judi-dench-richard-curtis-movies-roald-dahl-esio-trot/","name":"Dustin Hoffman Smitten by 'Scrumptious' Judi Dench"}}]}] ```