Features

There’s nothing like a DAME

Helen can fairly be described as a great trouper in the grand tradition – classical theatre, questionable movies that required nudity as much as they did talent, and memorable television roles. But as correspondent Morley Safer reports, her specialty is playing formidable women, women of great power, women with great flaws.

One of the nation’s best loved characters (ironically, probably coming  close second to the Queen!!), she’s been one of the UK’s top stars, a star of stage and screen, and a hot pin-up for over 35 years. The 61-year old actor, has scooped up some of the world’s most prestigious acting awards, including her recent Bafta for Best Actress for her performance as Elizabeth II in the movie “The Queen”. For that role she’s also a front-runner for the best actress Academy Award.

She plays women like Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning queen of England with equal ease. These women may appear to be made of tempered steel but Mirren disagrees. Speaking about Elizabeth I, Mirren comments, “Vulnerable, stupid, silly…. Made such ridiculous mistakes. And a tempestuous person, a very vulnerable personality,” Mirren points out. “Bursting into tears one minute, throwing her shoes the next minute.”

You look like crap. You’re hung over. You know you’ve done something naughty the night before but you can’t even remember. ”

But the most flawed of Mirren’s strong characters is Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison of the cult television series Prime Suspect. She plays a tenacious single cop with a long, impeccable list of bad habits, including heavy drinking and sleeping with the wrong people.

Mirren plays her with a total absence of vanity, especially in the very last installment of Prime Suspect. “You look like crap. You’re hung over. You know you’ve done something naughty the night before but you can’t even remember who you did it with,” Safer remarks. “You have a shot of vodka for breakfast.”

But how much Jane Tennison is in Helen Mirren? One critic said, ‘She’s all about sex and domination. Part submissive, vulnerable and yet invincible. Pretty good.’”

“Very accurate,” Mirren agrees, laughing. “Now that is kind of true. I think there is great truth in that.” Those are the roles that are written for her but Mirren says she chooses them.  “Well, I don’t choose them, they come my way and I don’t say no,” she adds.

Mirren was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff. Her father Vasily was the son of Russian aristocrats stranded in England after the Russian revolution. Her mother Kathleen was a cockney girl daughter of a butcher, who grew up when “class” really mattered.

When Mirren started in theater, her goal was to be a great classical actor. Originally, Mirren says, she was inspired by Shakespeare. Mirren’s earthiness won her rave reviews. After a sizzling portrayal of Cleopatra while still in her teens, she was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She dazzled audiences with her talent and blatant sexuality in modern and classical roles.
In her fifties, she won two Academy Award nominations and eight Emmy nominations, including two wins. Also in her fifties, she married director Taylor Hackford, her husband of nine years. They live in London, in a house by the Thames, when they’re not at their house in Los Angeles, or New York, or the south of France.

Asked if Mirren regrets never having had children, she says, “No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I am so happy that I didn’t have children. Well, you know because I’ve had freedom.”

“Did you ever believe when you were a kid here that you would be who you are today?” Safer asks.

“No,” she replies. “Course I hoped and I did this I mean embarrassing thing when I think about it now, I used to sit on a bench on the seafront, you know, my hair like this, imagining that a film producer would be driving by and would screech to a halt and get out and say ‘You’re the girl I’ve been looking for.’ Really, really pathetic. I had my sort of silly dreams and of course, the reality is so much more interesting the way in which life takes you – the hard work is so much more fun actually.”

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