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Helen Mirren: Die Queen
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From the age of 13 when she played Caliban in a school production of "The Tempest," Helen Mirren knew she wanted to be an actress. Her Russian-born father and English mother may have encouraged her to be a teacher like her siblings, but Mirren's mind was set. She auditioned for and won a spot with the National Youth Theatre and at the tender age of 18 was cast as the Egyptian queen in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" at London's Old Vic Theatre, a part that has become something of a talisman for her. (She went on to tackle the role again in 1983 opposite Michael Gambon and again in 1998 with Alan Rickman.) By the time she was 20, she was a company member at the Royal Shakespeare Company where she excelled in her numerous appearances in the Bard's cannon. Petite and blonde, Mirren exuded confidence and a sultry appeal leading one journalist to tag her as "The Sex Queen of Stratford," partly for her charged portrayals, partly because of her penchant for doffing her clothing in films like "Age of Consent" (1969) and on stage (as Lady Macbeth in 1974).
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Helen Mirren dedicated her BAFTA win for The Queen to Ian Richardson for playing a huge part in her success story. She said that Richardson was very supportive towards her when she started out acting, and without him she may not have been so successful. The dedication came two days after he died. (edit)
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Helen Mirren is one of those terrifying British actresses whose competence is almost ferocious. She's built to play women of power and intelligence. But when it came to her sovereign, the biggest big dog in the female power kennel (sorry, Oprah), Mirren, 61, was the one intimidated. Worse still, in The Queen, which imagines the royal-family dynamics and political maneuverings after Princess Diana's death, she has to play two Elizabeths: the public one, whom everybody feels they already know, and the private, whom few have seen. "I was incredibly nervous," says Mirren. "I didn't want my performance to be clever but thin, and I didn't want it to be a satirical impersonation."
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In 1984, Mirren won Best Actress for her role in the film Cal at the Cannes Film Festival and the 1985 Evening Standard British Film Awards. In 1994 and 2001, she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her roles in The Madness of King George and Gosford Park, respectively. In 1995, she had ... been awarded for Best Actress once again in Cannes for playing Queen Charlotte in The Madness of King George. In 2002, she received the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Gosford Park. Mirren is the first female actress to be nominated for three acting performances at the Golden Globe Awards in the same year. She won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Leading Role in the movie drama category for Stephen Frears' The Queen in 2006 (along with two nominations in the Actress in a Mini-series or TV Movie category for Elizabeth I, and Prime Suspect: Final Act).
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From the age of 13 when she played Caliban in a school production of "The Tempest,†Helen Mirren knew she wanted to be an actress. Her Russian-born father and English mother may have encouraged her to be a teacher like her siblings, but Mirren's mind was set. She auditioned for and won a spot with the National Youth Theatre and at the tender age of 18 was cast as the Egyptian queen in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" at London's Old Vic Theatre, a part that has become something of a talisman for her....
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After Princess Diana's shocking death, Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren, in an Oscar-winning role) and Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) engage in intimate talks as Britain demands the princess be memorialized in a manner beyond standard protocol. Read More
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Die Queen