They said whaaat?! Helen Mirren chats to Allure.
“If people treat me like the age I am, I get absolutely insulted, really cross. I hate when people give up their seat for me. No, no, no. I don’t want your seat.” Helen Mirren, on aging, to Allure
“I could see why — when I got far enough back from my young self — they called me sexy in those days. I fell into the cliché of sexiness: blonde hair, tits, waist, which I hated at the time because it was not fashionable. You had to be thin and have a cigarette and only wear black. And I just never fit into that look”.
“It’s not necessarily to do with confidence because I’m sure if [Jessica Chastain were] sitting here, she’d say, ‘Oh, God, I’m not confident at all. It’s an interior power that comes from her intelligence. When intelligence is combined with beauty, it’s extraordinary…[like] Natalie Portman.”
“[Trump] just said and did whatever it took to get what he desired. That is quite terrifying, because it means there’s a lack of morality there and a lack of conscientiousness.”
“[Ivanka] talks a good game, but there’s no substance. Her book is so ignorant about how the majority of women live, talking about ‘Make time for yourself to have a massage.’ Puh-lease.”
“You look at old Mel there, and she is one of the most powerful women in the world because she could take him down. She almost did that with the hand. [She puts on a Disney Evil Stepmother voice and mimics the hand brush-off seen round the world.] ‘Don’t touch me.’ ” On Melania Trump.
“I wasn’t into the very didactic feminism of the ’60s and ’70s because I liked wearing makeup and high heels. That was a no-no. It was sort of ‘That’s playing to the patriarchy.’ I was thinking, Well, I just really like it. Then as feminism developed, they realized you can like nice dresses, high-heeled shoes, and makeup. That’s not stopping you from being feminist.”
“Oh, I’m always starstruck any time I meet a movie star. I’m paralyzed,” she says. “I say, ‘Right, Helen, just be natural; just be yourself. Don’t talk too much; don’t stare.’ I have to give myself all these instructions.”
“If there were advice for her younger self, it’d be to say “Fuck off” more and stop being so “bloody polite.” In those days, you had to. It’s hard to explain how difficult it is to overcome the culture. You become a voice in the wilderness. No one wants to listen.”
