In 1997 , Dench appeared in her first starring film role as Queen Victoria in John Madden 's teleplay '' Mrs Brown '' , which depicts Victoria 's relationship with her personal servant and favourite John Brown , played by Billy Connolly . Filmed with the intention of being shown on BBC One and on WGBH 's '' Masterpiece Theatre '' , it was eventually acquired by Miramax mogul Harvey Weinstein , who felt the drama film should receive a theatrical release after seeing it and took it from the BBC to US cinemas . Released to generally positive reviews and unexpected commercial success , going on to earn more than $ 13 million worldwide , the film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival . For her performance , Dench garnered universal acclaim by critics and was awarded her fourth BAFTA and first Best Actress nomination at the 70th Academy Awards . In 2011 , while accepting a British Film Institute Award in London , Dench commented that the project launched her Hollywood career and joked that " it was thanks to Harvey , whose name I have had tattooed on my bum "
1997 Cannes Film Festival
1997 Cannes Film Festival
Judi Dench