Helen Mirren: Love, literature and getting in touch with her Russian roots

HELEN Mirren says playing Tolstoy’s wife in a new film was like a home-coming. She spoke to James Rampton about love, literature and getting in touch with her Russian roots.

Helen Mirren is nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Performance in The Last Station Helen Mirren is nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Performance in The Last Station

A run-down railway station in an unremarkable east German town is an unlikely place to meet Dame Helen Mirren.

The fact we’re surrounded by ragged hay bales, an abandoned hand-cart and a pile of battered suitcases makes the encounter with one of Britain’s most elegant actresses all the more surreal, but Helen seems thoroughly at home.

We’re on the set of her latest movie, The Last Station, a moving story about the turbulent relationship between the great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy (played by Christopher Plummer), and his spirited wife, Sofya (Helen).

The actress didn’t hesitate to take the part when she was sent the script, describing it as “one of the great women’s roles in film”. But another big draw was her Russian lineage.

Born Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov, Helen is the daughter of a Russian émigré. Her paternal grandfather, a Tsarist count and arms dealer, came over to England to finalise a contract when he was marooned here by the Russian revolution. 

The reason I never wanted to marry is because I never wanted to divorce. Then one day I felt it was the right thing to do. Even now I still get a shiver when I hear him say ‘my wife'

Helen Mirren

“The first day on set was magical,” she smiles.

“It was as if one of my grandparents’ photos had come to life. It’s in my blood. My great-great-grandmother was a Russian countess. That side of my family was Russian aristocracy, and the other was English working-class. So I’m

a good contradiction!”

Still sexy at 64, Helen has a natural sparkle about her so that even a simple outfit (she’s wearing a plain white shirt, grey trousers and a cap with a “Last Station” logo) looks glamorous on her. She’s also fiercely intelligent, but a wicked sense of humour and contagious laugh make her lively company.

“Actors are rogues and vagabonds – or they ought to be!,” she declares at one point during our interview. “I can’t stand it when they behave like solicitors from Penge.”

Helen is also impressively fearless about airing her opinions, however strong, but you get the feeling that she wouldn’t welcome the compliment.

 “Two phrases I hate in reference to female characters are ‘strong’ and ‘feisty’. They really annoy me. It’s the most condescending thing. You say that about a three year old. It infantilises women.”

Sofya would no doubt agree. As Tolstoy neared the end of his life, his wife fought tirelessly to hang on to his legacy for the sake of their children (some believed it should be bequeathed to the people of Russia) and as the film shows, it was a marriage born of passion, not placidity.

“She is a wonderfully tempestuous person and also very funny,” smiles Helen.

“She had given her life to Tolstoy’s work – she copied War and Peace out six times – think of the work! Sofya was simply fighting for what she is owed. It’s a fabulous role.”   

And Helen isn’t the only one to think so. The Last Station has already won her the Best Actress Award at the Rome Film Festival and she recently received an Oscar nomination for the film.

From Prime Suspect and Gosford Park to Elizabeth I and Calendar Girls, Helen is one of those performers who just gets better with age.

In 2003, she was made a Dame – after some deliberation on her part (“I had to think about it quite seriously; It does sort of squash you into the establishment thing. But my baser feelings got the better of me. I succumbed to pride!”).

But it was her imperious portrayal of the Queen in 2007 that gave her global fame – and an Oscar for Best Actress.

But the one constant throughout her steady rise to recognition has been her husband, the American film director Taylor Hackford.

The couple have been together since 1986, and for a long time, Helen resisted the idea of marriage.

“The reason I never wanted to marry is because I never wanted to be divorced,” she says.

“All my life, I hated the idea of getting married. I thought it would be a massive mistake for me. Then one day I just felt it was the right thing to do. Taylor had given me respect and loyalty for 15 years. I trusted him 100 per cent, but I was terrified it would change our relationship. When I woke up on the morning after the wedding, I realised everything had changed and I loved it. Even now, I still feel a shiver when I hear him say ‘my wife’.”

Helen is stepmother to Taylor’s two grown-up sons but has never had children of her own. “I’m just not interested,” she says.

“I’ve no maternal instinct whatsoever. And I don’t think that’s so unusual. I love children, but it’s just not for me.”

 With filming finished for The Last Station, Helen is currently taking a well-earned break.

“I’ve made four films back to back. Before this, I did Love Ranch which is directed by my husband. I play a madam in a Nevada brothel during the 1970s. It was incredible to go from that to this.”

Helen concedes that many actresses would kill for that kind of variety.

“I hope they don’t try to poison me: ‘get rid of her, we want her roles!’ But I’d sympathise with them if they did. I’d understand.”

And with that, she throws her head back and lets out another loud and infectious laugh.

The Last Station is out on Friday.

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