Welcome to The Helen Mirren Archives, your premiere web resource on the British actress. Best known for her performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company, "Prime
Suspect" and her Oscar-winning role in "The Queen", Helen Mirren is one of the world's most eminent actors today. This unofficial fansite provides you with all latest
news, photos and videos on her past and present projects. Enjoy your stay.
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Celebrating
10 years
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We’ve taken another deep dive into the archives. Here’s the first part of a comprehensive magazines update, starting in 1976 with a promotional interview for the Royal Court premiere of “Teeth ‘n’ Smile”. Some great covers have been replaced in better quality as well. For a complete list of updates, check out the list below.
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Total TV Guide (United Kingdom, April 17, 2004)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – The Sunday Times Magazine (United Kingdom, November 09, 1997)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Radio Times Magazine (United Kingdom, October 05, 1996)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Radio Times (United Kingdom, April 07 1991)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Entertainment Weekly (USA, April 06, 1990)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – The New York Times Television (USA, October 09, 1988)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Films & Filming (United Kingdom, January 1987)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Films & Filming (United Kingdom, March 1985)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – Drama (United Kingdom, Autumn 1981)
Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – New Musical Express (United Kingdom, June 12, 1976)
Having a conversation with Dame Helen Mirren is a bit like having a conversation with Cicero. The Oscar-winning actor is a master of the art of digression: one minute you’re talking about fashion, the next you’re talking about Catholic convent school and before you know it, you’re on to Israel-Gaza. As we dart from one topic to another, an overriding theme emerges: cause and effect. It underlies a wider interest we both share in science; not with a capital S but rather, the science of possibility. Of consciousness. Of big ideas. And, naturally, of gags. I have known Mirren for years. We sat next to one another at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards about a decade ago, and we’ve never looked back. She is someone who can be hilariously matter of fact. “I always say, it’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never got to see GPS,” she tells me. “It’s the most wonderful thing, my little blue spot walking down the street. I just find it completely magical and unbelievable.” It’s so sad that Kurt Cobain died when he did, because he never got to see GPS “But they’re tracking you, Helen!” I protest. “I know they are,” she replies. “I really don’t care.” At 79, Mirren is not only a national treasure but one of our most remarkably ageless actors, defying long-held expectations of a woman’s longevity on screen. In contemporary parlance, it’s like she’s ageing backwards. “I am older,” she admits, although she is “fairly healthy”. “I’m sure I’ll go all pear-shaped soon. But I’m not interested in being young. I’m interested in being exactly who I am.” Reaching this age, she says, is a privilege. “I never thought I’d be 79. I’m not full of youth, but I am life full. I much prefer that phrase… And I feel so grateful that I lived in a world without technology for quite some time. I knew a world without technology in a deep and full sense… Human connection was a very different thing back then.” Our conversation turns to what connects us: our shared heritage. Mirren’s father came to the UK from Russia as a boy during the First World War. “My dad had this weird Russian name and didn’t want us to live as outsiders in the British community, so we changed our family name when I was about seven or eight.” How Russian does she feel today? “I’d say I’m Russian from the waist down.” The complete article and podcast can be found here.
Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan are in final negotiations to star in the Paramount+ series Guy Ritchie‘s The Associate (working title), Deadline has learned. Paramount+ declined to comment for this story. With the most powerful clients in Europe, Guy Ritchie’s The Associate will see family fortunes and reputations at risk, odd alliances unfold, and betrayal around every corner; and while the family might be London’s most elite fixers today, the nature of their business means there is no guarantee what’s in store tomorrow. The one-hour drama from Showtime/MTV Studios and 101 Studios follows two generations of gangsters, the businesses they run, the complex relationships they weave, and the man they call upon to fix their problems. Hardy is up for the role of Harry, the fixer, a man who is as dangerous as he is handsome. Mirren and Brosnan would star as the crime family’s matriarch and patriarch, respectively, we hear. Hardy is set to reunite with his RocknRolla director Ritchie in this new project. Guy Ritchie’s The Associate is Mirren’s follow-up to Taylor Sheridan’s 1923, which recently concluded shooting its second and final season; both shows hail from 101 Studios and MTV Studios. Mirren and Brosnan co-starred in Netflix’s The Thursday Murder Club which wrapped shooting early last month. Ritchie, who will direct Guy Ritchie’s The Associate, executive produces with series writer Ronan Bennett, David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin and Ivan Atkinson.
Today, Helen Mirren has been a guest on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to promote the theatrical release of “White Bird” in the United States. On the show, she was presented with a “Helen F****** Mirren” cocktail from the Pal’s Lounge New Orleans, the bar owned by her late step-son Rio. She also read a poem called “Love” by the recently executed Marcellus Willams. You can watch her appearance in the video archive. Screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.
Video Archive – Talkshows – The Kelly Clarkson Show (2024)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – 2024 – The Kelly Clarkson Show (October 03, 2024)
A week ahead of its theatrical release in the United States, Helen Mirren has joined Lionsgate’s press tour for “White Bird”. Besides yesterday’s screening at the DGA Theater in New York (see update below), she and director Marc Forster were interviewed on a press junket. Clips from both events have been added to the video archive, alongside a making of featurette for the film.
Video Archive – News Segments – WGN News (2024)
Video Archive – Public Appearances – “White Bird” New York Screening (2024)
Video Archive – Career – White Bird – Making Of
Very sad news today as a true one-of-a-kind legend of film and the theatre, Dame Maggie Smith, has died. Throughout her long career, Smith dazzled generations of fans, either for her acclaimed stage work, the lavish Merchant Ivory adaptation, the Harry Potter series or the unparalleled success of “Downton Abbey”. “Maggie Smith was a truly great actress and we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career. She was a joy to write for, subtle, many-layered, intelligent, funny and heart-breaking. Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.” – Julian Fellowes, who created, wrote and produced “Downton Abbey,” in a statement to the AP. Helen Mirren, who shares only one credit with Smith – 2001’s “Gosford Park”, in which they didn’t share a single scene, but were both Oscar nominated as Best Supporting Actresses, also remembered her colleague during the recent press junket for “White Bird”.
Maggie Smith, rather like the Queen of England, you know, has been a part of my life ever since I was a student in London and she was an Icon even then so she’s someone I’ve watched and admired and loved eventually. I had the great honor of working with her um so it’s a very sad day for for the the whole culture of theater and Cinema in in England. It’s a very sad day. She was one of the greatest actresses of the past Century without a doubt. She had a career in Hollywood as well, she won an Oscar, so she had a very successful film career as well. But the real magic of Maggie was on stage, and if if you ever saw her on stage, you never forgot it. (Helen Mirren, September 27, 2024)
Yesterday, Helen Mirren and the cast and crew of Lionsgate upcoming, long-delayed “White Bird” attended the US premiere for the film at New York’s DGA Theater. The drama, filmed in 2021 and already released in European countries, will release US theaters on October 04. Pictures from the screening have been added to the photo gallery.
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2024 – “White Bird” Screening
Netflix has given The Thursday Murder Club fans another teaser ahead of the film’s release. The upcoming murder mystery film, based on Richard Osman’s beloved novel of the same name, has now officially wrapped. Celebrating the movie milestone, the streaming giant has released a behind-the-scenes cast and crew group photo. The snap features many famous faces, with cast members Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie posing alongside the film’s director Chris Columbus. Eagle-eyed fans may also notice Naomi Ackie in the group photo. This marks the first look at the actress in costume as her character PC Donna de Freitas. This comes just days after Osman confirmed the movie, which has been in production since late June, completed filming on September 11. The Pointless star turned author, recently shared his excitement for the upcoming film, which he hopes “should be out next year”. Chatting on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X, Osman confirmed that despite visiting the set on several occasions, he won’t be making an on-screen cameo. “I might do one little voice thing, but I can’t be [in it],” he insisted. “People going, ‘Why is the guy from Pointless in a Sussex police station?’. It’d be a bit odd.” “The Thursday Murder Club” does not yet have a release date.
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – The Thursday Murder Club – On-Set Pictures (August 28, 2024)
While Helen is busy filming (“The Thursday Murder Club” should have been wrapped by now and “1923” should be in production as we speak), let’s revive some of her classic performances. Blu-Ray screencaptures from three pivotal films of her career – “The Long Good Friday”, “Cal” and “The Cook The Thief and her Lover” have been added to the photo gallery, alongside Blu-Ray screencaptures from the little-seen and long-forgotten “Prince of Jutland” – a retelling of the Hamlet tale with an all-star cast including Christian Bale, Gabriel Byrne, Tom Wilkinson and Kate Beckinsale. Not as iconic as the other three but still recommended to watch. Enjoy the new additions.
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Prince of Jutland – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – The Cook The Thief His Wife & her Lover – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Cal – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – The Long Good Friday – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Variety has learned that Helen Mirren has been submitted for Grammy consideration in the spoken word category for her work on “Moriarty: The Silent Order.” The Audible/Treefort Media dramatic podcast is set in the Sherlock Holmes universe. Dominic Monaghan stars as Professor James Moriarty and Phil LaMarr voices Sherlock Holmes. The second season sees Moriarty returning for a new adventure that finds him joining forces with his bitter rival, Sherlock Holmes. Speaking with Variety in 2022, Mirren said, “I would love to get a Grammy, that would be the coolest thing ever,” she says with a laugh. “The problem is, I can’t sing. It would have to be a spoken word album.” A win in the category could secure Mirren a prestigious EGOT status, having won an Oscar, Tony and multiple Emmys already. Only 19 people have achieved the elusive EGOT honor. Elton John became the latest to achieve EGOT after winning the Emmy Award for his Disney+ special, “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.” “Moriarty: The Spoken Order” is also being submitted in the best audiobook, narration and storytelling recording category. The Grammy nominations will be announced on Nov. 8.