The 'Skyfall' star found solace in her career after husband Michael Williams passed away 11-years-ago, reported Daily Star.
"It (acting) came to my rescue, really. I went out to Nova Scotia almost immediately after Michael's funeral and made 'The Shipping News' with Kevin Spacey for four weeks. And then I was into 'Pride & Prejudice'.
"People, friends, kept saying, 'You are not facing up to it; you need to face up to it,' and maybe they were right, but I felt I was - in the acting. Grief supplies you with an enormous amount of energy. I needed to use that up," she said.
The 77-year-old says she has only had time off from work twice in the last six decades - to give birth to her daughter Tara Williams and to care for her late husband.
"I think it is always appalling to see yourself on film. In the theatre you can change things ever so slightly; it's an organic thing. Whereas in film you only have that chance on the day, and you have no control over it at all."