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There are a lot of reasons to love Helen Mirren.
Shes aproud feminist and a dame, but with a greatsense of humorabout herself.
Horror is a bit of a change of pace for you.
Do you believe in ghosts or the paranormal?
Not really, no.
Im very skeptical, but at the same time Im very open.
I would say Im an open-minded skeptic.
I did read, though, that you were potentially haunted on your wedding night.
So what was it?I woke up in the middle of the night.
If you dont believe in much, then what is your fear pressure point?
Do you watch horror movies?I dont like horror movies.
I would not callWinchestera horror movie.
I would call it a ghost movie.
But no, I cant take horror films.
Do they scare you too much?Yes.
Some of those images, I just dont want them in my brain, in my memory.
Its just better not to even look at them, because I find it difficult to wipe them out.
Any role that I take I mean some roles, actually.
Stop lying, Helen!
That was a complete lie.
I take every role very seriously!Thats not absolutely true.
Some roles I just do for the pure fun of them, and its incredible fun to do them.
This is a woman whos really haunted.
She is dealing with these feelings of beinghauntedon a nightly basis and trying to resolve them.
The English can be a little more tuneful and maybe a little manipulative and a little more thoughtful.
With American, you just go straight through to the end.
You speak absolutely straightforward.
It turns out youre an MC?[Laughs.]
With a great deal of help from a friend, James Corden.
Im like, Oh, no!
I cant do that!
But Im always up for doing something that scares the shit out of me.
Hopefully MC Mirren is the future Grammy in your EGOT pursuit.Oh, wouldnt that be cool?
Absolutely, do a sort of rap Shakespeare album that wins a Grammy.
That would be fabulous.
It might be a step too far, but I would love that.
Women are very supportive of each other, you know, as I think were seeing more and more.
Is that something you are seeing reflected back in the roles available to you?Yes.
And I do feel that that has been manifested.
Until there are women in the military, you dont see women in the military onscreen.
Until there are women in politics, you dont see women in politics onscreen.
And its partly a reaction against what went before!
Its your revolution against it that pushes art forward.
I believe in that.
But guidance in terms of negotiating, I will be happy to be someone that people could turn to.
I dont know if Ive got good advice, but still.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
