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.
Celebrating
10 years
on the web
Sep
23
2019

With over 60 films under her belt, Helen won an Emmy in 2006 for her lead role in TV mini-series, Elizabeth I, and the following year, won an Oscar for her outstanding portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. Now she is marking her return to the small screen in style, after a decade long absence, playing Catherine the Great in a new Sky period drama that promises to be jam-packed full of politics, passion and power. The story charts the dramatic rise and fallof arguably the most powerful female monarch in history.

The four-part historical drama will focus on the final stages of Catherine’s reign and her affairwith Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin -the man who ultimately helped her shape Russia’s future and expand the country’s Empire. Helen explains that she hopes she can change the perception of the Russian monarch, often remembered more for her promiscuity than her politics. “History tried to drag Catherine down because history doesn’t really like very successful, powerful women. I hope we are going to reinstate her reputation as the incredible leader that she was. I’m not saying she didn’t have her faults. She made mistakes and finished up quite tyrannical but she was originally a reformer of this vast, vast country.” The complete article can be read in the press library.

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Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – My Weekly (United Kingdom, September 17, 2019)

Sep
07
2019

Helen Mirren makes for a thrilling Catherine the Great. In the upcoming, eponymous HBO miniseries, the Oscar winner plays the 18th-century Russian leader with ruthless panache, cutting down all the men attempting to usurp her throne. “It would be a terrible mistake to go against me,“ she warns in the trailer above. The project was apparently kick-started when Mirren said in an interview that she would one day like to play the monarch, who ruled during Russia’s Golden Era and had a notoriously rocky marriage to Peter III. Producers David Thompson and Charles Pattinson heard the word and quickly made it so. Now Mirren hopes the four-part miniseries will help people see Catherine in a new light. “History doesn’t like very successful, very powerful women,” Mirren told the Independent. “They have to drag them down, and history tried to drag Catherine down. I hope we are going to reinstate her reputation as the incredible leader that she was.” “I’m not saying she didn’t have her faults,” the actor added. “She made mistakes, and finished up quite tyrannical. But she was originally a reformer and a Westernizer, if you like, of this vast, vast country.” The four-part series also stars Jason Clarke as Grigory Potemkin, the military commander who became Catherine’s lover. Catherine the Great will debut on October 21 at 10 p.m. on HBO.

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Catherine the Great – Promotional stills
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Catherine the Great – On-Set Pictures
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Catherine the Great – Trailer screencaptures (HBO)
Video Archive – Career Videos – Catherine the Great – Trailer (HBO)

Aug
28
2019

All episodes of the four-part Sky original drama Catherine The Great have been confirmed to air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV on Thursday 3 October, with a linear playout at 9pm. Starring Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren as the iconic Russian Empress alongside Jason Clarke, Gina McKee and Rory Kinnear, the series follows the latter years of the Catherine The Great’s reign and her passionate affair with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke), amid a backdrop of scandal, intrigue and immense conflict. Unable to publicly marry, Catherine and Potemkin’s story is one of obsessive love for each other and their country as they develop a unique and devoted relationship, overcoming their adversaries to build Russia’s reputation as one of the great European powers of the 18th Century. Written by Nigel Williams (Elizabeth I) and directed by BAFTA and Emmy® Award-winning Philip Martin (The Crown), Catherine The Great is produced by Origin Pictures and New Pictures. It is the third commission from Sky and HBO’s global drama partnership, which to date has included The Young Pope and Chernobyl, which recently received 19 Emmy® Award nominations. Catherine The Great is one of many notable Sky commissions airing this year, as Sky continues to invest in original productions. Sky has recently committed to more than double its investment in original drama, comedy and documentary through Sky Studios, the commissioning and production arm of Sky. Sky Studios brings to screen unique stories from the very best talent in Europe and is the creative home of Sky’s award-winning and much-loved Sky originals. The complete press release can be read over at Sky.

Aug
01
2019

After her award-winning performances as Elizabeth I. and Elizabeth II., Dame Helen Mirren is adding another commanding and unforgettable royal ruler to her glittering CV as she heads the cast of Sky Atlantic’s sumptuous drama “Catherine the Great”. The four-part series, which has been filmed in Russia, Latvia and Lithuania, follows the formidable 18th century Russian empress’ dramatic later years as she tranforms her nation into one of Europe’s greatest powers. All the political and sexual intrigue surrounding Catherine’s colorful court is also brought to life, including her passionate and complex romance with military leader Grigory Potemkin (Jascon Clarke), who helps her bring Russia to glory. Gina McKee (Bodyguard) co-stars as Catherine’s confidant and lady-in-waiting Countess Braskovya Bruce and Rory Kinnear is shrewd politian Nikita Panin, the governor to her son Paul (Joseph Quinn). Richard Roxburgh, Kevin McNally, Paul Ritter and Paul Kaye also feature. “Catherine rewrote the rules of governance by a woman and succeeded to the extent of having the word ‘great’ attached to her name”, explains Mirren, who thinks the drama will offer a new take on the empress. “History tried to drag Catherine down. I hope we are going to reinstate her reputation as the incredible leader that she was”.

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Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – TV & Satellite Week (July 27, 2019)

Jul
26
2019

At 73, Helen Mirren has learnt a few things about life… finding power in insecurity, why marriage is ultimately the right choice and the joy of a good charity job. With her return to television imminent – playing Catherine the Great in a new miniseries – Emma Clifton looks at the wisdom, worries and loves of the illustrous star. Helen Mirren often makes headlines, and because she’s Helen Mirren, there’s always a feisty coolness to the story behind the news. Recently, there was one such moment when she was asked if she had any regrets about how she has been treated as a young actress. “Being old is cool, but, oh, how I wish I were 18 now with the strength and courage to say ‘Fuck Off,” she said. “If I could go back and tell my younger self anything, it would be this: “Darling, learn these two words: Fuck. Off. All my life I never learnt to say those words, I just learned to be nice, to play along”.

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Photo Gallery – Articles & Scans – The Australian Women’s Weekly (New Zealand, August 2019)

Jul
22
2019

HBO has released a teaser trailer for the historical drama miniseries “Catherine the Great” which stars Helen Mirren in the title role as the 18th century monarch. The first glimpse of the upcoming limited series shows us Mirren as the legendary monarch, who was Empress of Russia from 1762 until 1796, making her the country’s longest-ruling female leader. The series will show us Catherine toward the end of her rule in the 18th century, when she begins a steamy relationship with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke), a military leader. “When I was young I dreamed of freedom, I dreamed of breaking chains,” Catherine can be heard saying in the trailer. “But as you get older, your choices narrow. So instead I gave us an empire, but I knew exactly what I was doing… I will not share my throne with anyone.” The series arrives on HBO and Sky Atlantic this Fall.

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Video Archive – Career – Catherine the Great – Teaser trailer (HBO)
Photo Gallery – Career – Catherine the Great – Teaser trailer screencaptures (HBO)

Jul
17
2019

While we’re still waiting for the exact premiere date by HBO and Sky Atlantic for the television broadcast of “Catherine the Great”, at least a home-video release date has been set. The mini-series will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on November 25, 2019 in the United Kingdom by Spirit Entertainment. The stated running time of 180 minutes kind of confirms the series to be aired in only two parts instead of four, as it’s still being written by HBO on their website. You can pre-order “Catherine the Great” Amazon.co.uk or any other retailer in the United Kingdom.

Oscar-winner Helen Mirren will lead miniseries Catherine the Great as the tumultuous monarch and politician who ruled the Russian empire and transformed its place in the world in the 18th century. The four-part historical drama will follow the end of Catherine’s reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics. Catherine the Great is the latest project in the partnership between HBO and Sky (the network behind The Young Pope) and will begin filming later this year. It is produced by Origin Pictures and New Pictures and will be made available on HBO in the US and distributed to Canada through Bell Media. It will also be available air on Sky Atlantic, NOW TV in the UK and Ireland, and on Sky Atlantic in Italy, Germany, Austria and Spain.

May
10
2019

“There are unscrupulous people in Russia – fortunately, I am one of them,” declares a formidable Helen Mirren in full regalia as Catherine the Great in the first trailer of the Sky series based on the Russian empress, which will be on HBO in the U.S. Mirren is joined by Jason Clarke, Gina McKee and Rory Kinnear in the series, which bows on the Sky Atlantic channel in the U.K. this fall. HBO has “Catherine the Great” for the U.S. The series is the latest out of its drama partnership with Comcast-owned Sky. The trailer shows scenes in palaces, battlefields and the bedroom, with glimpses of the life and loves of one of the most powerful female monarchs in history, including her passionate affair with general Grigory Potemkin. “I have survived for half a century in a world that does not want me,” she says in a more reflective moment. “Catherine the Great” is produced by Origin Pictures and New Pictures. Nigel Williams (“Elizabeth I”) penned the show. It is directed by BAFTA- and Emmy Award-winning Philip Martin (“The Crown”).

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Photo Gallery – Career – Catherine the Great – Trailer screencaptures (Sky)

Apr
15
2019


Dame Helen Mirren was on hand at yesterday’s BFI & Radio Times Television Festival, and has said she was “scared” and “frightened” by her new role as Catherine the Great, according to The Independent. The actress – who stars as the titular Russian queen in the Sky Atlantic drama – described the show’s creator’s decision to write the part for her as a “terrible mistake”. Speaking at the festival, the veteran actress explained that a pair of producers she had previously worked with had read an interview in which she had mentioned wanting to play the powerful monarch. She said: “I made the mistake when I was doing an interview and someone said, ‘what would you like to do next?’ Maybe it was after Elizabeth. “I said, ‘Well, I’d quite like to play Catherine the Great, actually. That would be an interesting character’. “People heard that, producers David Thompson, who was involved in Elizabeth, and Charlie Pattinson – and they went off and raised the money. “It’s really bad. I was, ‘oh no, that’s a terrible mistake’. But then I was committed. I couldn’t wriggle out of it.” Dame Helen, who also starred as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, said being responsible for kick-starting such a vast project had worried her. “I think I was nervous. I think was frightened,” she said. “I don’t know why but I was. You set yourself up to fall flat on your face. I’ve always been very wary of saying ‘I’d like to do this’, because it is a recipe for disaster. “It’s better to allow things to come randomly and brilliantly.” The Oscar-winner’s induction into the Radio Times hall of fame closed three days of panel discussions and talks at the festival. Dame Helen also defended Catherine the Great against claims of promiscuity and that she had had sex with a horse. She said: “That was calumny thrown at her by history because history doesn’t like very successful, very powerful women. “They have to drag them down and history tried to drag Catherine down. I hope we are going to reinstate her reputation as the incredible leader that she was. “I’m not saying she didn’t have her faults. She made mistakes and finished up quite tyrannical but she was originally a reformer and a Westerniser, if you like, of this vast, vast country.” Catherine the Great is set to air on Sky Atlantic this autumn.

Apr
12
2019

A couple of fantastic production stills from the upcoming HBO miniseries “Catherine the Great” have been added to the photo gallery.

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Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Catherine the Great – Production Stills