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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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Helen Mirren’s ardent feminism came to the fore Thursday night when the Oscar-winning actress was asked during a keynote conversation in Toronto what she looked forward to beyond the “horrible situation” of the current Israel-Hamas war. “Gosh, that’s an incredibly difficult question, because you don’t want to be naïve and silly. Of course one hopes for peace,” Mirren told the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center during an appearance at its 2023 Spirit of Hope Benefit. Praised as a steadfast ally in the fight against anti-Semitism by the human rights organization after she received their 2023 Humanitarian Award, Mirren’s informal conversation was overshadowed by events in the Middle East after Israel declared war on the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza after its Oct. 7 surprise attack on southern Israel. Asked at one point during the keynote what frightens her today, Mirren answered without pause: “Oh, October the seventh. That scares me the most, and whatever it is in humanity that makes people able to do that, whatever it is that pushes them to commit those acts, whatever brainwashing, whatever it is that can turn peoples’ minds to those actions.” Pointing to other grave human atrocities in history, she referenced the Holocaust during the Second World War and America’s traumatic history of lynching African-American men to terrorize their communities. “Lynchings were very prevalent. And I just saw recently postcards of an audience at a lynching, that they’d send to each other, as sort of, ‘what fun we had the other night at the lynching.’ What it is in us, human beings? Is it fundamental to us? It is so much a part of our nature as all the goodness we have,” Mirren additionally asked during the Toronto gala. Mirren also addressed the controversy over a non-Jew like herself being cast to play the Israeli leader. “It’s a legitimate discussion. The whole idea of casting has really been blown out of the water recently, and I applaud that. It’s completely right,” she said. At the same time, Mirren said she would not have taken the part of Golda Meir if the biopic itself had not been directed by an Israeli, Nattiv. She added, “Without that authentic voice, I just wouldn’t have done (the role) with someone else.” Edit: Pictures have been added to the photo gallery.
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – Annual Spirit of Hope Gala 2023
Helen Mirren’s latest feature film, “Golda”, has been released on home video and on-demand in the United States last week. The drama, which focuses on Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, can be also found on streaming platforms (check availability here). While fans in Europe will have to wait a little longer – it’s currently in theaters in the United Kingdom – screencaptures from the Blu-Ray have been added to the photo gallery with many thanks to US fan Joan for sending them in.
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Blu-Ray Screencaptures
Yesteday, Helen Mirren has attended the UK premiere of “Golda” ahead of its release in cinemas. Speaking of her role, she said: “Golda Meir was a formidable, intransigent and powerful leader. It is a great challenge to portray her at the most difficult moment of her extraordinary life. I only hope I do her justice.” “Golda” was written by Nicholas Martin, who previously penned a biopic of American socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, and directed by Guy Nattiv who led Oscar-winning short film “Skin”. Nativ said: “I have long been an admirer of the great Helen Mirren. She has melted so brilliantly into Golda Meir’s character with incredible talent, intelligence, depth and emotion, doing justice to the richness and complexity of this incredible woman.” Pictures from the screening have been added to the photo gallery.
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – “Golda” Screening (London)
The legendary Michael Gambon has passed away at age 81. He has been Helen Mirren’s leading man in three iconclastic productions: 1983’s “Antony and Cleopatra” with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the unforgettable thief in Peter Greenaway’s masterpiece “The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover” as well as Helen’s secret lover and eventual murder victim in the Oscar-winning “Gosford Park”. On the day of Mr. Gambon’s passing, Helen Mirren was promoting “Golda” in the United Kingdom, during which she remembered her colleague in an interview with the BBC.
I’m going to smile when I think about Michael, because he was incredibly funny. He had this natural Irish sense of humor. Naughty, but very, very funny. He was enormously self deprecating but at the same time and instinctive actor and a wonderful person to be around, just in general. He kept me constantly in laughter. We had some incredibly funny moments playing “Antony and Cleopatra” together. But, an extraordinary actor. An extraordinary contribution to the British landscape of theatre. An enormously important past within that landscape, and we will all miss him a lot (Helen Mirren, BBC, September 28, 2023).
In an interview aired by Israel’s Channel 12 on Sunday, Mirren spoke about her leading role in “Golda” depicting Israel’s first and only female prime minister, Golda Meir, during the period of the fateful 1973 Yom Kippur War. The interview was recorded in July when Mirren was in Israel for the premiere of the movie at the Jerusalem Film Festival. “I believe in Israel, in the existence of Israel, and I believe Israel has to go forward into the future, for the rest of eternity,” Mirren said. “I believe in Israel because of the Holocaust.” She revealed there were those who had tried to talk her out of making the film due to Israel’s controversial position on the world stage, but, she said, “I’ve met such extraordinary people in Israel.” “I know there is a base, a foundation of deep, intelligence, thoughtfulness, commitment, poetry even in Israel that is very, very special, I think,” said Mirren. Mirren admitted that before making the film, “I didn’t know a lot about Golda” but said she clearly recalled “the feeling of triumph and satisfaction and of awe actually that a woman had been elected to lead a country. It was a very exciting moment for women in general. Understanding her physical suffering… as well as the mental suffering of dealing with this enormous burden of the war, that was a revelation for me.” The complete article accompanying the interview can be read here, while the full interview can be found in the video archive.
Video Archive – News Segments – Channel 12 Israel (August 28, 2023)
Photo Gallery – TV & Online Appearances – Channel 12 Israel (August 28, 2023)
One of Helen Mirren’s most anticipated dramatic roles today arrives in theaters today – although, due to the dual strike in Hollywood, it will not likely for “Golda” to make a splash at the box office. Reviews have been mixed – universally praising Mirren’s performance and criticising the film’s pace and lack of depth of Meir’s character. In one recommended review on Roger Ebert, Christy Lemire writes that “[Meir] remains frustratingly out of reach, even in her suffering. But there’s a bitter irony in the fact that she sees her doctor in secret at the morgue, and each time she walks down the hallway toward her appointment, more and more bodies are stacked up along the walls. It’s a powerful image”. Vanity Fair has also published an in-depth article on transforming Helen Mirren behind the scenes, which is worth a read. There has also been a new clip released which you can find in the video archive.
My goal was to acknowledge the trailblazer who paved the way for Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel. In the 1970s, when men were misogynists – especially those commanders – a woman came and led the country. This is unheard of. I think it’s something to remember and to celebrate. (Guy Nattiv, director of “Golda”, Vanity Fair, August 25, 2023)
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Production Stills
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – On-Set Pictures
Video Archive – Career Videos – Golda – Film Clip 02
Among the many misfortunes of the current dual strike in Hollywood is the lack of promotion for films that would need a good boost by star power. “Golda” might be a prime example among the current releases, which will probably be overlooked by many, simply because they don’t know it exists. In an effort to reach a wider audience, its distributor Bleecker Street is working with Fathom Events, a unique and prolific theatrical distributor, that has mastered the art of finding audiences for one-off cinematic events, from live broadcasts of opera, stage plays and live concert pics to anniversary rereleases of classic Hollywood films. Fathom will present a Q&A with Mirren and director Guy Nattiv in theaters across the country Aug. 23, two days before the film’s official release. (It was taped before the SAG-AFTRA strike.) Fathom has also released a (very, very brief) making of featurette on the film, giving us a glimpse of the makeup process as well as an interview with Helen. Additionally, new production stills have been added to the photo gallery.
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Production Stills
This August, we’re in for a treat. The French/German television channel Arte will be celebrating Helen Mirren with a weeklong retrospective, as well as a brand new documentary, directed by Nicolas Maupied, which will share insights on Helen’s varied career. Arte’s retrospective starts on Monday, August 14 with “The Long Good Friday” (also available on-demand). The following Monday, August 28, “Excalibur” and “Eye in the Sky” will be shown. And on Wednesday, August 30, “Hitchcock”s broadcast will be followed by the new documentary “A Sassy Royal Actress” (alternatively “Une Femme Puissante” in French or “Eine königliche Schauspielerin” in German). The documentary, which will be available on Arte’s streaming platform starting August 23, runs for a full hour and will feature lots of scenes from her films and from archive interviews. To my knowledge, no interaction or new interview has been conducted for this – but I’m looking forward to see if they dug up some old treasures.
Not only a theater icon, but also a television and a movie star, the English Helen Mirren and her brilliant career have been impressing the world since the 1960s. She is the only winner of the “Triple Crown of Acting”. She’s an uncategorizable, multi-talented actress, but also a powerful and very feminist woman. She is considered by many to be the greatest living actress. Often associated with the roles of powerful figures in films such as “The Queen”, she is a strong feminist activist. Indeed, for almost 60 years, through the characters she chose to play and her attitude behind the scenes, she’s an advocate for women’s emancipation, relentlessly fighting against sexism.
Bleecker Street has dropped the theatrical trailer (the same as the international one, sans the subtitles 🙂 ) for “Golda” – a “ticking-clock thriller set during the tense 19 days of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, faced with the potential of Israel’s complete destruction, must navigate overwhelming odds, a skeptical cabinet, and a complex relationship with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (Liev Schreiber), with millions of lives in the balance. Her tough leadership and compassion would ultimately decide the fate of her nation and leave her with a controversial legacy around the world”. Meir served as Israel’s prime minister between 1969 and 1974. She stood as a powerful global figure but is said to have held onto the guilt of those lost in the Yom Kippur War until her last days. “Golda” is set to premiere on August 25.
Video Archive – Career Videos – Golda – Theatrical Trailer
Video Archive – Career Videos – Golda – Television Spots
Photo Gallery – Career Photography – Golda – Screencaptures – Theatrical Trailer
As earlier reported, Helen Mirren is visiting Israel to attend the 40th Jerusalem Film Festival. “Golda” has been chosen as the fest’s opening film and Helen will also receive a Life Achievement Award while being there. You can read a comprehensive summary of the rather entertaining press conference at The Jerusalem Post – I’ll leave you with this bit: Asked about the coincidence of the fact that she is participating in another festival movie – she is the voice of the narrator in Barbie, which is having its sneak preview there – she said, “I think that we need a Golda Meir Barbie,” a remark which brought down the house and concluded the event. A couple of pictures from the press conference and the screening have been added to the photo gallery. In this excerpt of her acceptance speech, Mirren acknowleged the just announced actor’s strike in Hollywood.
Members of my tribe can be found in Germany, Belgium, the United States. Palestinians, Israelis, Africans. They are the tribe to whom I really want to dedicate this award and say thank you. I had the greatest time on “Golda” because immediately I felt that I belonged. Thank you to my wonderful tribe of actors, all over the world in every language there is. (Helen Mirren, Jerusalem Film Festival)
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Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – 40th Jerusalem Film Festival – “Golda” Premiere
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – 40th Jerusalem Film Festival – Meeting with Isaac Herzog
Photo Gallery – Public Appearances – 2023 – 40th Jerusalem Film Festival – “Golda” Press Conference