According to Entertainment Weekly, Helen Mirren is officially Fast & Furious royalty. After openly campaigning for a role in the action franchise, the Oscar-winning The Queen actress debuted in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious as, fittingly, Queenie Shaw, the charming criminal mother of Deckard (Jason Statham), Owen (Luke Evans), and Hattie (Vanessa Kirby). She returned in the 2019 spin-off Hobbs & Shaw, but through two outings, Mirren, 75, never got a chance to do the one thing she wanted more than anything else: drive a car. Good news arrived in January, when Fast star and producer Vin Diesel told EW that F9 would finally feature Mirren getting the behind the wheel. “Without giving away any spoilers… You know what, I’m going to give you a spoiler,” he said. “Yes, she gets to drive. It’s so awesome. She gets to drive, and she gets to drive sleek.” Ahead of Mirren’s scene-stealing turn in F9 (in theaters Friday), she strapped into the passenger seat of EW’s BINGE: The Fast Saga to talk about her dream coming true, her unexplainable chemistry with Diesel, and possible casting for Papa Shaw. You can read the complete interview over at Entertainment Weekly.

I had an auntie Queenie. One of my mother’s sisters was called Queenie, which is a very old East End name. It’s nothing to do with the queen, but I thought it was funny to play the Queen and then to be called Queenie. We’re a very different person from a very different background. So I love the fact my auntie Queenie has become a part of the Fast & Furious. She’d be amazed if she knew.

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