She is one of the industry’s best known actresses, with a career spanning more than five decades.
But Helen Mirren has revealed she felt a sense of female inequality back in her 20s – in wake of the recent scandal in Hollywood.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine on Thursday, the actress, 72, questioned why it has taken so long for the issue to be addressed, before admitting her own lack of self-confidence on the red carpet.
‘It’s taken too long’: Helen Mirren has revealed she felt a sense of female inequality back in her 20s – in wake of the recent Hollywood scandal
Back in the day: Speaking on Lorraine, the actress, 72, questioned why it has taken so long for the issue to be addressed, before revealing her own lack of confidence (pictured in 1971)
Helen weighed in on the recent sexual harassment and abuse scandal with Lorraine Kelly – and claimed it was ‘about time’ for the Time’s Up movement to occur, after so many years of immortality in the industry.
She said: ‘I think it’s more of a volcanic explosion than a tipping point! Little cracks of smoke and fire have been coming out, but finally the magma is appearing.
‘It’s certainly about time. It has come a long way but not nearly far enough, and its taken too long in my opinion.’
Looking back: Helen claimed it was ‘about time’ for the Time’s Up movement to occur, after so many years of immortality in the industry
Not good enough: She said of the recent sexual harassment allegations: ‘It’s certainly about time. It has come a long way but not nearly far enough, and its taken too long in my opinion’
Confused: She added: ‘I was feeling and thinking those thoughts in my teens, so I don’t understand why its taken so long to get here’ (pictured in 1975)
Revealing even she felt a sense of inequality in her youth, she added: ‘I was feeling and thinking those thoughts in my teens and early 20s, so I don’t understand why its taken so long to get here.’
However, Helen did praise the progress of women in the directing and production fields, and even applauded a female camerawoman in Lorraine’s studio.
Looking around at the crew, she said: ‘That has changed and is changing, although not enough as I look around…’ before spotting a female, and declaring: ‘Ah! There’s one!’
She went on: ‘See, that’s great to see. Ten years ago that would not have happened,’ before urging another camera man to pan on to her, and give her time to shine.
Making moves: However, Helen did praise the progress of women in the directing and production fields, and even applauded a female camerawoman in Lorraine’s studio
Surprising: Helen also revealed her own insecurities when on the red carpet – an issue she believes is stronger in women than men
Fake it til you make it: She said: ‘It’s a lack of self-worth maybe. But it’s a normal natural part of human life, so I say continue faking it until it weirdly becomes true!’ (pictured in January 2018)
Helen is currently promoting her new film with Donald Sutherland, but also her new confidence initiative with L’Oreal and the Princes Trust.
The campaign, titled All Worth It, aims to help 10,000 young people in the UK who are plagued with self-doubt and insecurities – with the likes of Helen, Cheryl, Louisa Johnson and Katie Piper acting as ambassadors.
Helen explained she chose to involve herself in the movement after feeling low self-esteem on the red carpet herself for many years.
She said: ‘It’s a lack of self confidence, lack of self-worth maybe. I think women in particular suffer from this. But it’s a normal natural part of human life, so I say fake it and continue faking it until it weirdly becomes true!’
Back to her best: Aside from her charity work, the Oscar winner was also promoting her new flick The Leisure Seeker
Emotional: Teasing at the new project, which also stars Donald Sutherland, she said: ‘It’s about a very sad situation two older people are facing, but its done with great sense of comedy’
Aside from her charity work, the Oscar winner is also currently promoting her new flick The Leisure Seeker.
Teasing at the new project, she said: ‘It’s about a very sad situation two older people are facing, but its done with great sense of comedy.
‘It’s a road movie but we literally took a road trip as we filmed. So I discovered a lot about RV parks which I didn’t know a lot about for example!’
Gushing of the opportunity to visit new and exciting places, she added: ‘America is an extraordinarily varied and complex country, full of extraordinary people. It’s always fun to get down there and be with real people.’
The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival back in September, and is set for release in March 2018.
Stunning: Helen was effortlessly chic in a black tea dress, which cinched in at her waist with a belt and was adorned with bright pink roses all over
Pictured of class: She tied her look together with pointed court shoes and a slick of hot pink lipstick