Judi Dench, 85, danced as Old Deuteronomy on Cats, and she’s now bopping to the viral “Laxed (Siren Beat)” song on TikTok. The legendary theater performer and actress proved that her skills are transferable into TikTok challenges, which you can see in her grandson Sam Williams‘ TikTok video below. Judi’s daughter and Sam’s mom, Finty Williams, 47, also joined in on this “family TikTok” that was shared on June 13.
@sam.williams1 When Bojo let’s you film a family TikTok #fyp #fy #foryou #mother #grandmother #viral #dance @finty.williams1
The comments section was basically a variation of the two same comments: how amazing Judi is, and how much her 23-year-old grandson is Ed Sheeran’s red-haired doppelgänger. “Ed and Judi,” one TikTok fan wrote, and another commented, “This has made my day! Dame Judi is a national treasure.” This family linage is so loved, a third fan even wrote, “When your granny is Dame Judi you get to say Ed Sheeran looks like you! Get in line Ed, Royalty first.” No shade towards Ed, though.
This isn’t Judi’s first rodeo with TikTok. Repeat fans returned to Sam’s page after watching the youngster and his grandma do a dance duet to yung gravy’s remix of the classic “Baby Come Back,” called “Cheryl,” on April 15. The video racked up more than one million likes — their latest collaboration is well on its way towards that number, with nearly half a million views! Judi and Sam returned for another dancing TikTok on May 5, that time to Young Thug and Future’s hit “Relationship.” However, this latest TikTok was the first time Sam didn’t have to duet with his grandmother through a computer screen.
@sam.williams1 Not quite sure why TikTok took this down… Like Grandma, Like Grandson #fyp #fy #dance #foryou #famousrelative #judidench #jamesbond #m
Sam has even poked fun at the clout he’s received from his grandma’s cameos on his TikTok page, which now has more than 125,000 followers and nearly one million likes. With an edit of Akon’s “Nobody wants to see us together” playing, Sam used TikTok’s clone effect to wistfully touch hands with his fake twin and wrote the hilarious captions, “Having a famous Relative” and “Trying to be my own person.” Many celebrity children/grandchildren can probably relate to that TikTok!
As Judi’s loyal TikTok fan base proves, no one is too old for this Gen Z-dominated app. Stars of every age, from Jennifer Lopez (50) to John Stamos (56) have all made viral TikToks!