you may gasp even more when i tell you i can't stand judi dench either. i saw her performing with the royal shaespeare company a few years ago, and she was dreadful.

i don't know what it is, but i just never totally believe in their characters, and i find them both to be totally devoid of any presence or charisma. plus, neither of them seem to have much range - those who saw mckellen perform in his younger days say he played romeo, hamlet and macbeth exactly the same way, despite the fact that the characters are poles apart; and judi dench always sounds like judi dench.

and i understand what you mean about the language, but his shakespearean speech was heightened even for its day - people in the 16th/17th centuries didn't really talk like that, and it wasn't meant to sounds like everyday talk. if you were to accurately translate shakespeare into modern english, much of it would still have to be in poetic language, so it still wouldn't sound like 'normal' speech.

i have to admit though, i love shakespearean verse. but then, i'm also the only person i know who prefers "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof" to "today has enough worries of it's own".