The 85-year-old British actress who plays Old Deuteronomy in the Tom Hooper-directed movie sees her character traditionally played by male actors as a transgender.

AceShowbiz –
Judi Dench took an unusual approach to her role as Old Deuteronomy in “Cats” – admitting she sees her interpretation of the traditionally male feline as transgender.

The Oscar winner stars in the movie adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage classic alongside stars including Rebel Wilson, Jason Derulo, and Taylor Swift, and told Out magazine her casting was “totally unexpected” due to the gender switch.

However, the star insisted that didn’t matter, as she explained, “I kind of call it ‘trans-Deuteronomy.”

Dench was previously due to star in the original musical but had snapped her Achilles tendon and had to withdraw from her role as Grizabella, but she confessed this time around her involvement in the classic tale was “glorious.”

“(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,” said Dench, referring to the British actor that originally played Old Deuteronomy. “(But) it was lovely, lovely to be led about and be an aged cat, very nice indeed.”

“Cats” is showing in theatres now.