Helen Mirren Thinks Queen Elizabeth Has Watched Her Film The Queen
Even in her late 70s, Dame Helen Mirren continues to bless us with her magnanimous performances time and time again. We know her extensive performance collection showcases her variety as an actor on-screen, but she is also well established as a stage performer too. Her decades of work have earned her numerous accolades including a Tony Award, an Oscar, and many more. Mirren received her damehood in 2003 from Queen Elizabeth II which is particularly interesting because just a few years later she played the queen in, well, "The Queen."
Playing the queen was a learning experience for Mirren, who admittedly didn't know a lot about Elizabeth before researching for her role. As she told The Hollywood Reporter, "The queen came to the throne when I was 7, I think. She's been there for my whole life. I didn't really take any note of her until I started having to research her as a person, as a human being. Then I found myself finding a huge admiration for her, and respect." But what did the royal family think of their silver screen portrayal?
Helen Mirren was nervous about how the establishment would react
When "The Queen" came out in 2006, no one really knew how the public would respond, let alone the royal family. The film's star Helen Mirren told The Hollywood Reporter that the experience was "nerve-racking" because no one knew how it would be taken. Though she can't confirm that the queen herself has ever seen the film, she has a feeling she has. "I got the sense that it had been seen and that it had been appreciated [by the establishment and royal family]. I've never heard directly, and I never will," Mirren told THR.
Mirren's instincts are probably right, since who could resist seeing themselves played on the big screen? Plus, a royal insider said (via British Heritage Travel) that Queen Elizabeth apparently watches "The Crown," even though she sees parts of it as "heavily dramatized." So it's more than likely that she's seen Mirren's Oscar-winning performance. Maybe even her corgis liked it!