Mirren Quotes & Sayings

It was not my destiny, I kept thinking it would be, waiting for it to happen, but it never did, and I didn't care what people thought ... It was only boring old men who would ask me. And whenever they went, 'What? No children? Well, you'd better get on with it, old girl,' I'd say 'No! F*** off!' — Helen Mirren

I think every woman in our culture is a feminist. They may refuse to articulate it, but if you were to take any woman back forty years and say, 'Is this a world you want to live in?' they would say, 'No. — Helen Mirren

I'm not an impersonator. I'm a lousy impersonator, actually. — Helen Mirren

Who the fuck is the Sandman?" Still ludicrous. A fairy tale.
Mirren crossed her legs and shifted in her seat. Elvis winked at him from her breasts. "It's not like I've met Him. My father never invited Him over to dinner. He's
" she took a deep breath and did a lazy little wave of her hand, as if searching for the right words "
the power that dominates Darkside. Pure creation. — Erin Kellison

When I was about 25, I went to a hand reader, this Indian guy in a funky neighborhood. He said: The height of your success won't happen until you're in your late 40s. — Helen Mirren

Americans are very good at animating voices. I don't know why. They have a freedom with them that we British actors find more difficult to get to. — Helen Mirren

I do sometimes worry about getting older and the fact that I am not going to be a model for ever ... But the fact that Helen Mirren can look so good in swimwear is an amazing boost for all women. When I think about [women like her] I instantly stop worrying. — Kelly Brook

I remember thinking, when I was in my early 30s, that this is the best age to be, and I still believe your 30s are a wonderful time. — Helen Mirren

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. — Helen Mirren

The poor Oscars - they always get slammed in the press. — Helen Mirren

As soon as Will disappeared around the corner, Mirren stood up. Stealth was not the way of the gallowglass, and tonight, he was gallowglass and slayer, both. — Susannah Sandlin

Love is a command to rise to one's highest potential ... the best and noblest vision of ourselves. Love is a reward. The greatest we can earn. Granted to us for the moral qualities we have achieved in our lives. — Helen Mirren

Right after winning the Oscar, when everyone was going home, they let these little gold Oscary shapes flutter down from the ceiling. Leonardo DiCaprio came over, bowed down, and kissed my hand. It was the most fabulous moment - such a lovely gesture. He didn't say anything. — Helen Mirren

As an actor, those are the roles that you long for. You always want something that's going to kick your last role out of the water and put you off on a new path. — Helen Mirren

Flesh sells. People don't want to see pictures of churches. They want to see naked bodies. — Helen Mirren

The hardest period in life is one's twenties. It's a shame because you're your most gorgeous, and you're physically in peak condition. But it's actually when you're most insecure and full of self-doubt. When you don't know what's going to happen, it's frightening. — Helen Mirren

I don't think it's good to try and change anyone. The trick and the mystery - of relationships and life in general - is to learn to live with the bits you don't like. — Helen Mirren

I'm not beautiful; I clean up nice. — Helen Mirren

Mirren, she is sugar, curiosity, and rain. — E. Lockhart

The most important thing is to bring people with Parkinson's into our world and for the public to have a real understanding of it, as they're beginning to have with autism. — Helen Mirren

When you're 16, 30 seems ancient. When you're 30, 45 seems ancient. When you're 45, 60 seems ancient. When you're 60, nothing seems ancient. — Helen Mirren

I admire the work of brilliant actresses such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren, who have had such varied careers. They have never stopped working, and they are as great today as they ever were. — Cate Blanchett

Sometimes nudity is sexy. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes being clothed is more sexy than being nude. — Helen Mirren

I'd like to see a much more open Monarchy, myself. I used to think they were completely useless and we should get rid of them. I don't necessarily feel that way anymore. I'm still ambivalent, I still loathe the British class system, and the Royal family are the apex of the British class system. — Helen Mirren

Now the whole fucking world is different."
"It's about to get worse," Steve said.
"Then I'll call for food," Vincent said. "Mirren, this might be our last meal. Any preferences? — Erin Kellison

I believe that if you want to go make your mark on the world you've got to go out and do it. Don't be shy, be adventurous. — Helen Mirren

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. — Helen Mirren

A woman with knowledge is something that frightens the status quo quite a lot. — Helen Mirren

My grandfather had come over as a member of the czarist army, to make an arms deal with the British government. Being a blinkered military man, he was unaware that the Russian Revolution was about to take place. — Helen Mirren

I like that Helen Mirren has been saying the next doctor should be a woman. I would like to go on record and say that the queen should be played by a man. — Steven Moffat

I certainly think that he [Alan Rickman] was a kind of actor who needed to grow into his maturity to realize the potential, the huge potential that he had. — Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren is like the sexiest woman on the planet to me. She is. Just the way she goes about everything. — Barry Watson

I love that country [Israel]. — Helen Mirren

The whole 'R' rating depends on a strange sort of fantasy land where all adults are responsible people, and children only ever go to the cinema with their parents. — Helen Mirren

I had my appendix removed in my 20s. I was in the middle of a play with Helen Mirren at the Royal Court Theatre, a fabulous career break. Then two weeks in I began suffering the most horrendous pain and had to pull out. Sadly, by the time I'd recovered, the show's run had ended. — Cherie Lunghi

Words can be used for venal purposes. Words are incredible sources of propaganda and can cause terrible havoc. — Helen Mirren

When I'm choosing projects to be a part of it's always a combination of so many different things. The primary thing is the director. But a very important element is, is it different enough from anything else I've ever done, or what I've last done. — Helen Mirren

What you want is a comfortable environment that you feel you can invent in. Because film is such a lumbering, technical, huge, great Neanderthal thing, it's hard to create that little space of peace, and calm, and creativity, and ease. That's what you want the director to create for you, so that when you walk on the set, you forget all of that, and the fact that it's costing gazillions of dollars a second. — Helen Mirren

I think we all have a dream of what it would be like not to work and grow heirloom tomatoes, and I do have that dream. It would be lovely. I do love gardening and all of that, but I do love my work. — Helen Mirren

Like journalists. The police have an extremely sick sense of humor, very guarded, very private, very male, which they need to survive on an everyday level. I don't think anyone has ever managed to tap that on the screen - it would actually be too shocking. — Helen Mirren

Yes, it's unfortunate that we have been conditioned to see an alternative to motherhood as not normal. But you do all realise that some of the most brilliant women in the world don't have kids, right? Oprah, Gloria Steinem, Helen Mirren, Dolly Parton? Do you think their lives carry an air of tragedy because they never had children? I don't. I'm sure they all had different reasons for not doing it, some maybe couldn't, some didn't want to, but these women's lives are not empty because of that. I think it's important we take the lead from our heroes and for everyone to stop valuing women on whether they do, or do not, become mothers. The irony of yours and your listeners' opinions is that it is you boxing women in to these roles, not men. It's highly un-feminist of you.' She — Dawn O'Porter

When I was making films [early in my career] there were very, very few female directors, and there were certainly no women on set, which made taking one's clothes off all the more difficult — Helen Mirren

I think of myself as being a bit of a wimp deep down - a bourgeois wimp - and I'm fighting that. I think all Brits are, maybe. — Helen Mirren

Ill-informed intuition is fantastic - it's what great art is. So really old painters or writers or actors are brilliant, because they've finally reached the point when they can let go of al technique. — Helen Mirren

I love photography, and I love the art of photography. — Helen Mirren

I knew I wanted to engage in the world of the imagination, but it was not economically feasible for me to study acting, so I went to a teachers' training college. — Helen Mirren

As you get older naked stuff [on film] gets easier. It's more to do with the role than what men in the audience think. There's a liberation about it. — Helen Mirren

I have no maternal instinct whatsoever. Motherhood holds no interest for me. — Helen Mirren

I am in a fabulously lucky position in that I get to wear beautiful, beautiful gowns for functions, which I can then give back. That way, they're not sitting in my wardrobe with me looking at them and feeling guilty. I love that, and I think when people have a fabulous function to go to, I'd recommend renting. — Helen Mirren

The important thing is to bring people with Parkinson's into our world and for the public to have a real understanding of it, as they've beginning to have with autism. — Helen Mirren

You write your life story by the choices you make. You never know if they have been a mistake. Those moments of decision are so difficult. — Helen Mirren

I'm always interested in something that Helen Mirren is doing. I thought her series Prime Suspect was unbelievable. I think she might be my favorite actress. — Julie Halston

I was part of the first generation of girls and women to be educated and go to grammar school even if we didn't have much money. Then that generation went, 'OK, great', and went into medicine or the police, and hit this wall of discrimination from older men who hadn't caught up. — Helen Mirren

We're all idiots when we're young. We don't think we are, but we are. So we should be. — Helen Mirren

I am British. I love Britain for all its faults and all its virtues. My husband is American and I am largely based in Los Angeles, but whenever someone asks me where home is, I automatically say 'London.' — Helen Mirren

Fear can be one of the most destructive emotions. It is, of course, also very important, in that fear sometimes stops you from doing stupid things. But it can also stop you from doing creative or exciting or experimental things. It can cloud your judgement of others, and lead to all kinds of evil. The control and understanding of our personal fears is one of the most important undertakings of our lives. — Helen Mirren

There is that awful moment when you realize that you're falling in love. That should be the most joyful moment, and actually it's not. It's always a moment that's full of fear because you know, as night follows day, the joy is going to rapidly be followed by some pain or other. All the angst of a relationship. — Helen Mirren

I'm not a communist, of course. But I do think that everything is down to economics. Capitalism doesn't change. — Helen Mirren

Wherever I am in the world, if I get free time when I'm filming I always hire a car, take to the road, drive for miles and explore. — Helen Mirren

I'm not strong-willed, actually. I'm a complete pushover. I love to be told what to do. — Helen Mirren

Any role that's proactive is a great role, and action roles are by their very nature proactive. You get to do stuff. I hate sitting in a corner - I'd much prefer an action role in a popcorn movie rather than pining in a corner not doing anything. — Helen Mirren

I resent having witnessed the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of the very brilliant female ones. — Helen Mirren

I have never in my life found myself in a situation where I've stopped work and said, 'Thank God it's Friday.' But weekends are special even if your schedule is all over the place. Something tells you the weekend has arrived and you can indulge yourself a bit. — Helen Mirren

With that incredible voice that he [Alan Rickman] could play like a sort of wonderful instrument, like a cello or something. He played his voice, and he could be the most subtle of actors. And he could also be quite a big actor. He could do the grandiose performances as well. — Helen Mirren

I've been working every year since I started acting, and I got many awards before I won the Oscar for 'The Queen.' — Helen Mirren

I am not interested in being a Barbie doll and turning myself into a sausage for the next 20 years. I want to follow actresses like Helen Mirren and Judi Dench who have lines on their faces and aren't afraid of playing their age. — Kim Cattrall

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. — Helen Mirren

I became an actress because I discovered the world of the imagination when I was about 14 or so and the concept that you could engage in this amazing world of storytelling. I saw a production of Hamlet, and I didn't know Hamlet died in the end. — Helen Mirren

I do think it's well over-time to have a female Doctor Who. I think a gay, black female Doctor Who would be the best of all. — Helen Mirren

I always feel when you work with an artist and whenever I work with a really good photographer, I try to give him or her their own artistic freedom because that's the way you get the best work or at least the most interesting work. — Helen Mirren

I've been an admirer of Helen Mirren for a long time. As I get older, I find myself admiring older women who have poise and elegance. — Thomas Haden Church

It'll be the Internet and piracy that will kill film. There's a philosophy that the Internet should be free, but the reality is that piracy will destroy the film industry and film as an art form because it's expensive to make a movie. Maybe you'll have funky little independent movies, and it'll go back and then start up again some other way. — Helen Mirren

I think a lot of my work has been a weird attempt to liberate myself, but it's not altogether successful. — Helen Mirren

Humor in a relationship is so important. Many women will say that. Some say, 'If they can make you laugh, it's the sexiest thing on earth.' — Helen Mirren

I prefer the finesse of French humour. English humour is more scathing, more cruel, as illustrated by Monty Python and Little Britain. — Helen Mirren

Women are always self-effacing and self-denying. There's a term that enrages me, and I always used to swear that I'd never play characters described that way. The term is "long-suffering." — Helen Mirren

I believe kids shouldn't be taught Shakespeare. They should experience it first by seeing a great production. — Helen Mirren

Mirren? Prickly? Say it ain't so. — Susannah Sandlin

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. — Helen Mirren

All you have to do is to look like crap on film and everyone thinks you're a brilliant actress. Actually, all you've done is look like crap. — Helen Mirren

The timing of comedy is so difficult. You've got to leave room for a laugh, you don't want to kill the laugh, but on film, you can't just suddenly stop for a laugh and then carry on. So, I think it's a real art form, comedy on film. — Helen Mirren

The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn't know which was which. — Helen Mirren

It's great to be queen! — Helen Mirren

It's outrageous. It's ridiculous. And 'twas ever thus. We all watched James Bond as he got more and more geriatric, and his girlfriends got younger and younger. It's so annoying. — Helen Mirren

It has nothing to do with clothing or makeup. Just put your shoulders back and chin up, and face the world with pride. — Helen Mirren

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. — Helen Mirren

It's so hard when you're young to look at older people and understand that they have been where you are. It's the weirdest thing. You just can't get your head around that, can you? You can't get your head around the fact that someone who is 60 was once 16, if you're 16. But the fact is they have been, and they remember it. — Helen Mirren

You know, some actors, all of their potential is in their youth, and when that passes, their qualities of as an actor pass. But he - Alan [Rickman] was the opposite, and their are other actors who are like that, who, really, their potential is in maturity — Helen Mirren

I love men that love women. Morgan Freeman, who I worked with on 'RED,' was very flattering to me. But he is flattering to all women. He is a woman-charmer. — Helen Mirren

My parents believed in education and economic security, and I thank them for it. Because I think that's part of what's made my life stable. It was instilled in me. You have to be able to pay your bills. You do not get into debt. And I never have been. — Helen Mirren

I don't believe that if you do good, good things will happen. Everything is completely accidental and random. Sometimes bad things happen to very good people and sometimes good things happen to bad people. But at least if you try to do good things, then you're spending your time doing something worthwhile. — Helen Mirren

I'd describe myself as a Christian who doesn't believe in God. — Helen Mirren

Girls go out together to see a chick flick or something. I loathe, I hate, chick flicks. — Helen Mirren

I don't mind being sexy, but on my terms. To this day, I love sexuality. I love the art of sexuality. I love Lady Gaga and the performance of sexuality. The mysterious, the artistic and the slightly perverse. I'm interested in all that. — Helen Mirren

I don't share lots of the phobias that horror movies tap into. I don't mind spiders or snakes or darkness. — Helen Mirren

I used to look out the window of my bedroom as a kid, and there were these stars that, in my mind, made a big "A" in the sky. I thought my destiny was to go there. — Helen Mirren

Acting is acting, but acting is different in almost always every project, and very, very different in this context. — Helen Mirren

Hollywood is a very small world; the people who matter matter, and the people who don't matter are just like nothing. — Helen Mirren

I'm a would-be rebel. The good girl who'd like to be a bad one. — Helen Mirren

Painters hate having to explain what their work is about. They always say, 'It's whatever you want it to be' - because I think that's their intention, to connect with each person's subconscious, and not to try and dictate. — Helen Mirren