Helen Mirren Quotes

People with Parkinson's are not some weird people on the edge of human experience.

I believe that if you want to go make your mark on the world you've got to go out and do it. Don't be shy, be adventurous.

In Shakespeare's day it was women who were being burned at the stake as witches... not men. The men were thought of as alchemists. But women doing the same thing would be a witch and would be burned.

I drink just as much tea when I'm in Los Angeles as I do when I'm in London. I take my tea bags with me wherever I go.

My dad's Russian. My mother's English. I would say my bottom half is Russian.

I've always found as an actress that the best thing to do in film or TV or theater is just to lose yourself in it. Think of the story, the character, the worlds we're in, and forget everything else.

I have no maternal instinct whatsoever. Motherhood holds no interest for me.

When you're young and beautiful, you're paranoid and miserable.

I was never a left-winger, actually. I was a pretend left-winger because it was more interesting than being a right-winger.

Words can be used for venal purposes. Words are incredible sources of propaganda and can cause terrible havoc.

Working away from my husband for long periods is good and bad. It stops us taking each other for granted and gives us space, but I miss him terribly.

Patience can be a good thing - but not necessarily. Sometimes it's not so bad to be impatient. I'm a little bit too polite.

Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That's the fun of them. You're always learning.

The role of women has always been undervalued in the spy world, always undermined in terms of recognition. Unfairly so. It's a world that needs women.

The great marriages are partnerships. It can't be a great marriage without being a partnership.

Humor in a relationship is so important. Many women will say that. Some say, 'If they can make you laugh, it's the sexiest thing on earth.'

I'm not beautiful; I clean up nice.

I am quite spiritual. I believed in the fairies when I was a child. I still do sort of believe in the fairies. And the leprechauns. But I don't believe in God.

The control and understanding of our personal fears is one of the most important undertakings of our lives.

You know, you have to allow life to play itself out, don't you? And one thing you learn is that it doesn't stop. It moves on.

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.

I remember thinking, when I was in my early 30s, that this is the best age to be, and I still believe your 30s are a wonderful time.

I don't throw a lot of parties. I find throwing parties a bit intimidating.

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.

I hate people eating on film. I hate it even worse on the radio, when people eat on the radio. I just can't stand it.

It's great to be queen!

Human beings make mistakes, so we all make mistakes and wrong decisions. Being able to make a decision and act upon it is not gender specific.

I used to look out the window of my bedroom as a kid, and there were these stars that, in my mind, made a big "A" in the sky. I thought my destiny was to go there.

I'm not an impersonator. I'm a lousy impersonator, actually.

I resent having witnessed the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of the very brilliant female ones.

It's very easy to just shout: 'Off with their heads!' Maybe in doing that you might lose something very valuable. I would like to see the monarchy continue, but in a more democratic fashion.

I have done film, television and theatre - all at a pretty substantial level - I don't think it's possible for American actors to do that.

I believe kids shouldn't be taught Shakespeare. They should experience it first by seeing a great production.

I think a lot of my work has been a weird attempt to liberate myself, but it's not altogether successful.

The French always seemed to be so chic. The food was better, the clothes were better, the makeup was better, the hair was better. Everything was better in France.

As an actor, those are the roles that you long for. You always want something that's going to kick your last role out of the water and put you off on a new path.

I love that country [Israel].

I'm not strong-willed actually. I'm a complete pushover. I love to be told what to do.

I think we all have a dream of what it would be like not to work and grow heirloom tomatoes, and I do have that dream, it would be lovely. I do love gardening and all of that, but I do love my work.

I love photography, and I love the art of photography.

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.

I'd describe myself as a Christian who doesn't believe in God.

Where does this guy's ambition go? That's very peculiar. I think he's a very disturbing person, I think he's a very disturbing politician. Personally, I feel his interest is a self-interest

I think it's always hard for people to get their head around the fact that populist, commercial films can also actually be great works of art.

When you do a voice in an animated film, you don't see the finished product at all. You're not animating. You're not doing the voice on the finished product. You're doing the voice long before.

Hollywood is a very small world; the people who matter matter, and the people who don't matter are just like nothing.

All of that was very closely researched. I think all we can do with drones is realize they are with us and not bury our heads in the sand about it, we should say, 'Okay, how do we regulate this?'

People often ask me whether I prefer theater or film, and the answer is that I prefer the one I'm not doing: The grass is always greener.

[Washington is a] very gossipy little village of people all going to the same bars . . . all watching each other having affairs with each other

I certainly think that he [Alan Rickman] was a kind of actor who needed to grow into his maturity to realize the potential, the huge potential that he had.