Helen Mirren says the parts she chooses must be essential to the story, whether the character is powerful or powerless. Speaking in Hamburg, where she received the Douglas Sirk Prize for her body of work, the actor discussed her role as writer Patricia Highsmith in Anton Corbijn’s film “A Talent for Murder.” The film is due to open on November 5, according to the interview profile.
Mirren said playing Highsmith offered a different challenge from portraying Queen Elizabeth II in “The Queen.” Audiences already had a strong idea of how the monarch looked, spoke and moved, she explained, while the public knows less about Highsmith’s appearance and voice. Mirren still worked to reproduce the writer’s way of speaking and moving.
She described Highsmith as an extraordinary, difficult and radical individualist, particularly late in life. The character’s wardrobe also mattered: Mirren said the costume had to be right down to the details. Shoes, she added, shape how an actor walks and moves, making them a crucial part of building a character.
Mirren said she finds roles intimidating, but takes that fear as a reason to accept the challenge. Acting also means beginning again with each job, she said, and living with uncertainty about future offers and how a finished film will turn out.
The actor reflected on how women’s prospects have improved since her youth. She recalled that, as a young successful woman, she could not get a credit card in her own name or buy a house independently. Her parents had stressed that she and her sister should be financially self-sufficient, a principle she said was unusual at the time.
Today, Mirren said, girls can see women working in fields such as marine biology, politics and technology and imagine similar futures for themselves. When she was young, she said, the options presented to women were much narrower.
Mirren, who won an Oscar for “The Queen,” said she finds a lifetime achievement award more fulfilling than recognition for a single performance. She also described ageing as unavoidable: “Either you die young, or you grow old,” she said, adding that growing old is far better than dying young.
Sources: FAZ.