Helen Mirren made her television debut in “The Silver Collection”, she played Rachel, a girl working at an art gallery who falls in love with a colleague despite them being intellectually poles apart. Then, she played Valerie in a lengthy five-part miniseries based on Honoré de Balzac’s “Cousin Bette”, with Margaret Tyzack in the title role. And there was no shortage of leading roles coming from the RSC. She played Tatjana in “Enemies”, Harriet in “The Man of Mode”, the title role of “Miss Julie” as well as Elyane in “The Balcony”. It would be her last performance with the RSC for three years, as Peter Brook made her an offer she couldn’t refuse…

In the Summer of 1971, Helen Mirren auditioned for Alfred Hitchcock for the role of Babs Milligan in “Frenzy”: “When I was just starting out, I was sent for an audition – or a meeting with [Hitchcock]. I don’t think he would have auditioned me; I think he either thought you looked right or you didn’t. I was arrogant and ignorant and, at that time, he was just not my kind of film director. I was into Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Rossellini; those were the directors I loved. I was, you know, as one is when one is young, just ridiculously self-opinionated. So, I didn’t really like him, and I know he didn’t like me very much. He certainly didn’t cast me. He took one look at me and went, “Oh, good God. She’s going to be a nightmare.” Anna Massey, probably best known for her role in Michael Powell’s “Peeping Tom”, went on to play Babs.

Theatre Productions

The Balcony

November 25, 1971

Theatre Productions

Miss Julie

October 27, 1971

Theatre Productions

The Man of Mode

September 13, 1971

Television Films & Series

Cousin Bette

August 07, 1971

Theatre Productions

Enemies

July 22, 1971

Television Films & Series

The Silver Collection

May 23, 1971