A biography for Helen Mirrenhasn’t been written yet.
“I'm not strong-willed, actually. I'm a complete pushover. I love to be told what to do.”
“I'm not a republican any more. Not so voraciously anyway - I'm not in favour of the concept of monarchy, but I do see the good in it if there's a good person in the role.”
“I think a lot of my work has been a weird attempt to liberate myself, but it's not altogether successful.”
“I don't get to play the same role over and over in different movies. The roles that I get to play are quite varied, which is great.”
“Two phrases I hate in reference to female characters are 'strong' and 'feisty.' They really annoy me. It's the most condescending thing. You say that about a three-year-old. It infantilises women.”
“It was never my intention to marry anybody. Economics are basically the only reason to get married, but I'm very glad I did it.”
“I have to say, without sounding like a total tosser, that everything I've learned in life, and that has taken me out of my natural interior life, has been with men. They exposed me to things that I wasn't aware of. I learned from all the guys.”
“People often ask me whether I prefer theater or film, and the answer is that I prefer the one I'm not doing: The grass is always greener.”
“I don't like the word 'strong,' because a strong character is never an interesting character. A character is made interesting by their vulnerabilities and their weaknesses.”
“I am not too keen on my nose, I don't like my knees, I hate my ankles, I am unsure about my behind, I don't like my legs at all. I am not too sure about my chin, my forehead is a bit dodgy. But, overall, I can live with it.”
“I believe kids shouldn't be taught Shakespeare. They should experience it first by seeing a great production.”
“I couldn't handle the rules the Queen has to live by at all, and very few of us could. It's a golden cage, really. You're never alone in that role - you are always surrounded by security.”
“The trick in life is learning how to deal with it.”
“The control and understanding of our personal fears is one of the most important undertakings of our lives.”
“I am quite spiritual. I believed in the fairies when I was a child. I still do sort of believe in the fairies. And the leprechauns. But I don't believe in God.”
“I think it's always hard for people to get their head around the fact that populist, commercial films can also actually be great works of art.”
“I've been working every year since I started acting, and I got many awards before I won the Oscar for 'The Queen.'”
“You can't control how other people see you or think of you. But you have to be comfortable with that.”
“Hollywood is a very small world; the people who matter matter, and the people who don't matter are just like nothing.”
“I'm under the impression that this notion of decency is disappearing from our society where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the Internet and where, in general, everybody seems to be very angry.”