14 DAY TRIAL // Helen Mirren is probably the only actress her age who can – and has the courage to – shed clothes for magazines. The August 2011 issue of Esquire has the British actress as the star of its “What I’ve Learned” column and, for the accompanying photo, she’s wearing nothing but the national flag.
The 66-year-old star is smiling her brightest smile as she’s holding on to the flag over her chest, lest her modesty be exposed.
She’s wearing bright red lipstick, with matching nail polish, but zero accessories or jewelry. Even her hair seems rather unstyled, but this only contributes to making her all the more endearing.
As usual, Helen’s interview is to die for: in the Esquire column, she dishes out advice on being a movie star, talks about fairies and whether she believes in them, reveals acting secrets and, last but not least, talks a bit about fashion.
“Whenever I see the queen, I always think, Oh, there I am!” Mirren says, kicking off the interview on a high note.
She goes on to say that the best compliment she ever received was when Leonardo DiCaprio went all gentleman-y on her, walking up to her after her Oscar win, taking her hand and, with a curtsy, planting a kiss on it, without saying a word.
Mirren, as her fans must already know, doesn’t take herself too seriously. She knows she’s famous because she also got a lucky shot and not solely because of her talent.
It would be wrong to think that you’re always right and correct and perfect and brilliant. Self-doubt is the thing that drives you to try to improve yourself.
“It’s such a crapshoot, and very often the talented people get lost by the wayside and the people with less talent are successful, and you don’t know why. It’s all such a mysterious random thing, so it’s very hard to give people advice,” she says.
She does have one word of advice for her fellow actors, though: if you’re to do a dying scene and you’re on the stage, it’s best if you choose a dark corner or a couch to hide your face from the audience – just in case you get an itchy nose.
On a more serious note, Helen says she always tried to keep her feet firm on the ground as regards her career and her vocation.
“You don’t want to mislead people. […] Some people throw away their lives following a dream and a dream is all it was. On the other hand, you do have to believe in yourself for anything to happen,” she says.
The full interview is here.