I am not too keen on my nose, I don’t like my knees, I hate my ankles, I am unsure about my behind, I don’t like my legs at all. I am not too sure about my chin, my forehead is a bit dodgy. But, overall, I can live with it. – Helen Mirren
I’ve always been battling against my sense of dignity and refinement. I was embarrassed by any bodily functions when I was younger. I could never even blow my nose. – Helen Mirren
I’m under the impression that this notion of decency is disappearing from our society where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the Internet and where, in general, everybody seems to be very angry. – Helen Mirren
The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn’t know which was which. – Helen Mirren
When you’re young, you wonder what all these old people are droning on about, trying to impart their wisdom. It’s not relevant to you because being young is such a specific thing. Thank God for that. Thank God for the young people who go out and demonstrate against rampant capitalism or whatever. – Helen Mirren
Flesh sells. People don’t want to see pictures of churches. They want to see naked bodies. – Helen Mirren
It’s so hard when you’re young to look at older people and understand that they have been where you are. It’s the weirdest thing. You just can’t get your head around that, can you? You can’t get your head around the fact that someone who is 60 was once 16, if you’re 16. But the fact is they have been, and they remember it. – Helen Mirren
Sometimes nudity is sexy. Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes being clothed is more sexy than being nude. – Helen Mirren
I think of myself as being a bit of a wimp deep down – a bourgeois wimp – and I’m fighting that. I think all Brits are, maybe. – Helen Mirren
Hollywood is a very small world; the people who matter matter, and the people who don’t matter are just like nothing. – Helen Mirren
I still suffer terribly from stage fright. I get sick with fear. Not every night, but at the beginning and on occasion – not necessarily when I’m expecting it. You just have to cope with it – take it on the chin and work through it, trying to use the adrenalin to perform. – Helen Mirren
People become more interesting from about 25 – they develop character and their personalities come out. – Helen Mirren
It was never my intention to marry anybody. Economics are basically the only reason to get married, but I’m very glad I did it. – Helen Mirren
I can’t help being Christian because I was brought up in Britain, and the morality of Christianity is part of the fabric of this country. – Helen Mirren
I’m not a republican any more. Not so voraciously anyway – I’m not in favour of the concept of monarchy, but I do see the good in it if there’s a good person in the role. – Helen Mirren
I was never a left-winger, actually. I was a pretend left-winger because it was more interesting than being a right-winger. – Helen Mirren
There isn’t a King Lear for women, or a Henry V, or a Richard III. You reach a level where you can handle that stuff technically and mentally, and it’s not there. – Helen Mirren
I prefer the finesse of French humour. English humour is more scathing, more cruel, as illustrated by Monty Python and Little Britain. – Helen Mirren
I couldn’t handle the rules the Queen has to live by at all, and very few of us could. It’s a golden cage, really. You’re never alone in that role – you are always surrounded by security. – Helen Mirren
I think a lot of my work has been a weird attempt to liberate myself, but it’s not altogether successful. – Helen Mirren
American actors who voice animated movies are so brilliant at it, because by the nature of American speak, it’s full of energy and full of commitment. And as a British actor, we have to kind of learn that. – Helen Mirren
I don’t get to play the same role over and over in different movies. The roles that I get to play are quite varied, which is great. – Helen Mirren
Everyone wants to be a movie star or a model, to be in the papers, but few realise just what hard work it is, getting up early, and so on. – Helen Mirren
I’ll tell you what me scares me is plastic. Plastic bags and plastic bottles and these things. Why does my water have to be in a bloody plastic bottle? The landfill and the ocean. And I don’t know, I’m just terrified with the proliferation of plastic. – Helen Mirren
Girls go out together to see a chick flick or something. I loathe, I hate, chick flicks. – Helen Mirren
At the time of the Silver Jubilee, I was a grumpy anti-monarchist. I didn’t celebrate and was appalled by the celebrations. In my idiocy, I missed out! I feel completely differently now compared with that time. – Helen Mirren
I resent having witnessed the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of the very brilliant female ones. – Helen Mirren
When you’re 16, 30 seems ancient. When you’re 30, 45 seems ancient. When you’re 45, 60 seems ancient. When you’re 60, nothing seems ancient. – Helen Mirren
There’s a scary moment when you realise you’re no longer the youngest person in the room. Especially if you’ve been a successful young person. That’s followed, of course, by the realisation that you’re actually the oldest person in the room. – Helen Mirren
Nothing is quite so emotional and passionate as what goes on inside of a family. People are driven to distraction by a father or a mother or a husband. Or a child. – Helen Mirren