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Helen Mirren jumps off her Oscar throne
into a new action movie and opens up
to us about marriage and who taught her
about love. (Hint: It’s not the same guy.)
BY KEVIN MAYNARD
Helen Mirren stands regal in a red velvet gown as a
photographer snaps away. She looks every inch
the imperious goddess who’s graced many a cos
tume epic. While a makeup person goes in for touch
ups, she introduces herself to me. “When this is
done, we shall take our thrones,” she says, pointing toward a
balcony space that has been set up for the interview.
Then, she’s whisked away for a costume change. When she
reappears, her demeanor is different Dressed in a beret sweater
and slacks, she seems looser, relaxed, almost playful.
Suddenly... splat!
In a studio in Culver City, Calif., the 62-year-old Oscar win
ner is whacked by a cream pie. Gobs of lemon meringue coat
her face, while a cadre of hair, makeup and publicity people
stand by, nervous. Grounds for death by hanging, perhaps?
Not for this master thespian.
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USA WEEKEND • Dec. 7-9,2007
Mirren’s haring the time of her life, .
laughing with every glob of gooey eonfec- V
tion that ingloriously lands on her head.
It’s all part of the photo session con
ducted with her full consent. (Look for the
pictures in our Dec. 28-30 year-end issue.)
If anyone qualifies as Hollywood royalty, it’s Helen Mirren.
In 2003, she was named a Dame Commander of the Order of
the British Empire. Last year, she won
an Oscar and two Golden Globes for t—
her portrayals of two Queen Elizabeths 1
(one of each for the movie The Queen , 1 i
plus a Globe for TV’s Elizabeth D.
Clearly, it’s good to be the queen. I
After more than 40 years in the busi- 1
ness, Mirren’s career is white-hot. She 1
has four movies in the works, including 1
one with Brad Pitt.
“It is remarkable,” she says. “But it 1-
wasn’t like I was struggling and then ■
suddenly I arrived. I just think the fact 1
that it all came at one time, people sit up 1
and go, ‘Where [in the world] did she |
come from?’ ”
Mirren’s latest project takes her about
as far from a royal corset as she can get.
In the adventure film National Treasure:
Book of Secrets, she plays Nicolas Cage's
mother, a linguistics expert who reluctantly
joins a quest to find a book of centuries- I
old government secrets. I
“I kick ass, man,” she says. It’s her I
first big action movie and, among other
things, she had to dangle 100 feet in the I
air. “I’ve wanted to do it all my life.”
Mirren’s roll-up-your-sleeves attitude
wasn’t lost on the cast and crew. “Oh
yeah, she got very physical, and she
was a real sport about it,” Cage says. j
“It’s funny,” he adds. “We’d be on the
set, and [movie studio publicists] would introduce her as
‘Dame Helen Mirren, Academy Award winner.’ And I would
say, ‘Well, I’m Ghost Rider!’ And she would say, ‘Exactly!’ ”
It’s that total lack of pretense that makes her so disarming.
Cover and cover story photographs by EJ. Camp for USA WEEKEND
Hair: Jeremy Clark, Exclusive Artists Using Bed Head; makeup: Mary Klimek for Rougeartists/Laura Mercier Cosmetics
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