Helen Mirren | Interview | TimesTalks

thank you icons I think it yeah me too hopefully I mean I'll just chillin with further questions he thought I would think about preparing tonight we've heard of it in terms of pine talk of peak times talk and you don't get much better than an hour at the people apparently so foolish and stupid they had they would do you know and you deal he gets paid and we pride ourselves sitting here it was a clever ploy by the people of total to pretend to be as mad as gates because he didn't want to pay their taxes completely dual alleyway King John wouldn't come down with all his you know his army upon them and and claim taxes so that's ahead goes to start with Batman but no Washington berlin founder name and and used it in a terrible piece of writing another question and people who the BAFTA co-sponsored events people might also know that in 2002 but you became a Dane Dane here I think of dame Edna and then I think gains from guys and dolls but that's not it at all its oil paintings hanging nothing to do with royalty or anything like that it's like your career Congressional Medal of Honor it in your country just need join world you know keep it up sort of thing that I read your book thing I really wish to London parity because you know your family backgrounds working class and the other side but on the other side your grandfather with part of the largest army he was in russia and just hoping to be in Britain when you live illusion happened you talking with one other thing to do by the door to make an arms deal with the British government because the russians he just bought the Russian Japanese war and he found realized that they were incredibly under our new armaments at that time Britain and England Britain Russia had a very close relationship in this area was the one of Queen Victoria's granddaughters I think there was a close relationship so my grandfather along with another person was sent you an arms deal with the British government deadline real Russia 16 yeah just before the Russian Federation it took longer than he thought it was going to take him he brought his wife and his young father who was 21 born in russia and he brought his wife and young son over and basically you know they had been regulations before the major Bolshevik Revolution which is always being crossed troubled away to nothing like being around the military was convinced that the nation would never hold so he thought six months you know of course and he could never do about six in russia and his mother and he saw them again and it saved his life and many others and she was going to extraordinary I was kidding my great harm to Mike Wallace system whilst I thought destroyed because they were just perfect candidates they were intellectuals middle-class they had a relatively abroad attacking me they would just play candidates but they state huge difficulty and your grandfather when the taxi driver in your father became a taxi driver told us why so many immigrants during my grandfather student directory and in Britain was sort of like this he started off living in great comfort in the russian embassy in London which was very very glamorous than you know and then of course because it was no more relationship and he had no way of making money speak English due to his credit he never paid the money that was all put in the bank and it had the gentleman to access it they would be only signatures to a very very large sum of money to pay phones and he misused to steal the money would you use that would have been of his joined the Communist Party in British London history just because the Second World War when also closely with me London passages leader along with russia's parties I'm sure you know there was quite a strong fascist movement in in europe and in London before the second world war and then there was a great movement against it as well fight against people fighting against us take a left wing so there was a famous smart and his fascist Blackshirts took through the east end of london because he's going to London at that time was where the Jewish community immigrant jewish community community was based in London so the flashes were delivered in walking part of London to show their aggression and violence and my father and it became known as the battle of Cable Street because the left wing social right up again and went to my father was one of those people in Battle of Cape a product that and you can I was wondering you know the idea of having played the Queen you started happening and UK attitude for the keep clean when you were younger but that really shifted the more you got to know think about my mother was never as left-wingers Portugal's my father was an issue with an east-end working-class woman from London London family so she wasn't actually the vegetarians riverhead years ahead of horrified but I really hope way thank you what happened understanding with a terrible moment for a lot of the people who believe in Hindi you can pin your idealism of communism it's a beautiful idea and of course the reality was the realization of the loss of that dream a lot of that utopian ideas of how beautiful the world could be I think was a very painful my father's generation but I was brought up in I'm getting that run to the Queen I was brought up in a very anti monarchist my mom and my dad really really thought it was rubbish you know the monarchy and point you playing the Queen and making me forcing myself to enter into who this person is in really controlling isolation of watching the way in which I found a huge growing in me and i actually became a lot of our beloved I i still filled out you know well with you you know I mean I think we will all the products and parents and I was the product of two of two people both really believed in winning independent and we believe that we should not just women but as people you know they grew up in a used when they were young in London it was a depression date again and went to second world war and when the patient safety or so they say twenty years it's ok you and twenty to forty was very very difficult when you really need to change depending which are important and they wanted my sister teaches and I did actually trained as a teacher became a teacher knows our wonderful teacher but that was not what I and II did you were you were being knowing that you wanted to act of a fuzzy origin story of sorts for you not have analyzed cost you a good combination I was playing the Virgin Mary actually populist you know that sort of place and we had to appear longer sparing the world court along and south end here and at the end of the year when I was growing up literally had shoes at the end you know some issues like page to show and it was a variety store to share with the community and and a comedian was very funny and I fell off my seat I remember laughing and dancing girls game and again had been Katie things on and I just she was mesmerised I thought it was just the most beautiful wonderful thing I've ever seen in my life and I guess when I was about to jump or took me to an amateur production of hundred when I was about 12 13 and it's the perfect age to see hamlet never having seen you know that hundreds die or new story watching him in the end it as much as anything production I just was absolutely transported to reach in leading world is just incredible part tree we understand the world of high school of grass that was something fantastic and it's shakespeare who went ham and we had this one of those huge box of shakespeare you know and if you had one of those but when the Prince like this more complete works of Shakespeare and I went to that book and I just started looking through reading using characters an amazing scene and a teacher a champion of you wait for me yes which was really launched me because I didn't I went to college but there was his organization can afford just financially impossible being you know sort of battle in the house trip to get to allow you to go I auditioned secretly but once I got in in something you did in the summer holidays he didn't cost them anything it didn't cost me anything in terms of my education so it was fine that was absolutely fine and it was actually what I was very lucky I like it we have is a lovely couple compilation through it now that the Dolphins put together last night of your career alluring to keep his memory alive because people forget you see especially the young the other way I'm surrounded by of course but times change the Queen and then he went on in that bank before concluding I know I'm on the edge of creepiness here and you know something that day beginning you know how do you feel about your pic the cali the infamous nineteen coming to television interview where you are in front of the camera to you how he serious popular with that he would just stare directly at your breath and complete something like okay because bob deniro she called me I would never I did but coming from him just feel different now because you know you're not as pretty as not a vacation having played upon as jack-booted who actually good at a time when you comin 252 you question it had no I i meeting you huge difference between someone being funny in presentation and someone being interviewed I think this is and I get it done in my life and it was very much of it as well you know I wasn't surprising to it it's become the time nobody thought twice about it i did i do you know I'm a little confused why when I look at it now and you can I was amazed how I handled it extremely well with them and grace grace interview never lived it down a long time coming and you really do your magic bullet may need to what happened in this case well indication I'm and I did I was appearing on Saturday Night Live and it was one of the girls I did so many female is a female and it saturday night live it feeling confused upset tired or depressed about it they cannot imagine how can I know you can and they can bury their heads in my boys that might be a great thank you so much made headlines here Helen Mirren to casual no longer do nudity i mean you know which is true and you would like to come back and bite you if you do but you know hopefully never been in that way of all perhaps nuclear language everything pivoted was but you wouldn't you'd give you helpful but not until the age of 45 at this true story like a story I hear you I wouldn't you you know when I think 23 difficult time for people in general the world and you do come crashing down upon you may need to apply for driving licence car insurance and pay no electricity bill and all the practicalities of life and then and he started the one thing that stuck in my mind was your be successful you have a very successful life but you want we hit your stride or your big success won't come until you're in your forties when you're 23 next week i cant wait 42 had this party paper this this deep with my writing on it and I didn't I couldn't remember what was in it apart from that one thing I couldn't remember anything else and I looked at it I thought I felt great about you know what is you just have to take the adventure I absolutely don't want to know what I did remember that one thing and it was right about that came with such a wonderful i mean it was an absolutely great role and the time you know it's very common to have women needing TV series at that time it was unheard you had had taken later in June but apart porque lacy don't think there was any other TV series by a single and insecure a new quite a lot about already but I try to change into line you know quite difficult to do that because I think she was very very because of a job and the way she operated she was going to be very very guarded I read the book was about it was difficult to get into into that line I had theory that she was she'd been sexually abused when she was young ones down I know you know as a child but I said we think when she when she came to New York young actress I think he probably had to put up with a lot of crap a lot in some way and hungry she called her house the hostages killed so she was very conscious of what she was capable of doing and absolutely useless in doing it if she felt she needed to it was a mentality that I find very very difficult to come to grips with actually there's no I do recognize it that is a human trade you know there are people who have that single mindedness and and and ability to be absolutely with us with it I'm not like that so I it's hard to get into I mean there was a scene in time but that was cut that I like and added to the mix pain medication extending the machine when she wandered in the Korean War soldier who's headed lost it all in the war and comes up to head one of those functions and said you hope I just want to thank you for what you're doing America where we are in the armed services are right behind you the truth about their time and just put into the historical context she was in an incredibly fun to play because she is so clean debate is a product of you know those troubled wonderful deeply felt like you know his girl Friday with just the right there on who they would they knew they would people they did they did Lockwood's they used words very well roles and difficulty honestly it's always hard when it is very much to do with who the people what they want is different you know making laws and changes it is a different experience pic director is incredibly important very important does the character appear on the last page script and and is it different from the last thing I did battle you know something I was 113 time I will get you an attorney for you but you're right I could change it wasn't all of your favorite amongst your favorite people UK with Super you know I went to the recruit absolutely determined to reach I also if we could do a reading of the play before we you know committed to anything and I went to read through thinking I'm going to do the read and I'm going to say I'm really sorry but I don't think this is her character you wanted for your house yet and I walked in and there was this amazing team beat people here to people issue goes right Stephen don't get the direct designer need of British theatre people and I thought you're going to walk away from this you know you have to do it was a great experience was able to take my kids to meeting you know it was amazing you when you know from the age of 52 2560 7233 and then off 285 so quickly changes it was challenging wonderful challenge when you played the Queen cure were approached to do it on film be restored to complete embarrassment I guess I have to do it would you remind kato emotional yeah because oh goodness me now it's become what some large know about him being in the wrong and you know all of this stuff but it was it had never been done little and so little blue chips such as he hate it consumes relationship with the world all want to destroy them say anything about it stories in the newspaper so you know it was very very intimidating thought and I loved your description and you went on stage reception and you found yourself right throwing your money in detail thinking what the hell am I am i doing in my husband and when you want to bring me down he was talking cry for me nicely and get back to you got to meet a bunch of people applauding no I didn't know what else to do I just kept morning and went on loan to get them something right opened up all these parts of you know one of the things you're distributing heroin choose mentioning look like a neglected to gender discrimination in hollywood feel you and your gender and I thought you had to field all these questions Helen know how do you think you'll find in two women had been having trying to have the computation time every day finally the congregation is beginning to be heard repeating media and talked about I just hope it continues I told you how long just to be a conversation between two different like a good environment for young these days coming up in terms of you you can do whatever you write another pill last night it was until court Angelina was going on tonight in situation in a couple of actual I had no idea what to do and support John Bull and when we did you see a little bit of these options mean Liam Neeson Gabriel none of us had any you know it is we have no idea about what you're supposed to do it was very patient with us really I don't appear to have moderated by then I speak getting up towards my debt is so then I stopped doing whenever anything came up television anything in front of the camera I did do a lot of television I accepted it just be able to learn and the biggest learning of prime suspect so many many many months but when I did when I didn't coast with Peter where I was still in life do it sort of thing and it was amazing to watch House who was subsequently lost Apple movie star he knew frame was to do what he was in his master technician and I would I watched him trying to understand but then I thought no I'm going to go down the route I'm going to just twenty is creates possible which was with the result but I was never on the picture we didn't get it was over there doing chillin real crazy but it's all part of the puzzle learning and with a different to interviewing in america i mean i think is an American right for the part additional with acting like he had to be right for the preconceived my history a difference you know I think because what I can do and we've been arranging it because you know when you start rehearsals you got four weeks to go five weeks speaks to his considerable change everyday gonna bring something new into it will be like that thats good lets you do something else you can do what you do I want you to know what you did in the audition auditions alleged all the things to do I thought I thought it was just a good actress told that one thing that was a bit of a shock I didn't have to do much that I did a lot of politicians and then I hope you told me you were talking last year when you watch the cream first with your husband will close watching it can share with us what you asked her husband was killed when it reaches thing they do this embarrassing thing in the audience is all day and you and the filmmakers have to prominence it almost like on a on thrown you know but very exposed with no one in front of your ground you know you're stating the filmmakers and at the end of the long run platform boots you know said it's quite intimidating and either Taylor or I had seen the film and the first shot in the film is mean full regain that we put the full regalia being painted a portrait painted and first officer film it's me turning and looking straight down look strange audience we going down the bottle can you really do that in film and silence respectful silence my husband lips away allowed oh my god you make love to me and get right

Channel: New York Times Events

Views: 55,943

Rating: 4.8843932 out of 5

Keywords: Helen Mirren (Film Actor)

Id: ovzI-LpcNbA

Length: 55min 15sec (3315 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2015