Helen Mirren explains why she “begged” Vin Diesel for a spot in the Fast & Furious films
Someone give Dame Helen her own spinoff series, immediately!
Aux News Films
Helen Mirren has had a storied career. A winner of an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmys and so many other accolades, she’s even achieved the esteemed Triple Crown of Acting (winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and a Tony). Not only that, but she’s a Dame! Yet, it came down to her having to plead her case to Vin Diesel, lover of the movies, to land her a spot in the Fast & Furious family.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mirren discussed the true story behind her getting the part of Queenie, the cheeky matriarch of the Shaw clan who first appears in The Fate Of The Furious.
“I think I was at some function, and he was there, and I got introduced to him. And I was shameless: ‘Oh God, I’d just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.’ And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: ‘I’ll see what I can do,’” said Mirren.
Diesel even recalls this meeting from his perspective in a Fast & Furious 9 featurette on the Dame herself. After their meeting, he says let her know they “already have this script and we’re already going into production.” Mirren kept the pedal to the metal and shot back, “You’re the producer! Get it together!”
Since her initial appearance as Queenie in The Fate Of The Furious, Mirren’s East-End criminal has had scene-stealing moments in Hobbs & Shaw and F9. In the latter film, Mirren finally got to have her titular driving moment in a 2018 Noble M600 as she helped Diesel’s Dom escape from his brother, Jakob (John Cena).
These type of stunts and special effects are what initially attracted her to the action series, Mirren tells the The Hollywood Reporter. “I love working and watching the art, the craftsmanship and the expertise of these people. The whole digital side of things, the special effects, is just extraordinary. Every time I go on set, the technology has advanced to another level.”
The 76-year-old actress explains it simply, saying, “I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car.” The Dame has spoken.
Mirren is set to be honored with the Life Achievement Award at the SAG Awards ceremony on Feb. 27.
22 Comments
I hope at 76 I still want to have fun doing things besides playing canasta and getting to restaurants in time for the blue plate special.
Because she’s not a candy ass like some people who refuse to participate in the greatest movie franchise in the world anymore.
She knew she could trust Diesel to coax a Fellini-worthy performance from her.
I detest the Fast and Furious movies but I love Helen Mirren. She and Nicol Williamson elevated Excalibur from a weirdly paced genre flick to something I love to rewatch.Am I going to have to sit through goddamm Vin Diesel to watch her now? I need to think about this.
The less you think, the better off you’ll be.
I had this very discussion with myself and decided I could settle for merely watching her in other things.
In John Boorman’s autobiography he says Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson both initially refused to be in Excalibur if he cast the other, each claiming they had dumped the other at the end of their previous fling. He said he never figured out what actually happened. There used to be a Dame Helen Mirren gimmick commenter & when there was a newswire item about Williamson’s death she commented, “I hope he and his tiny penis rot in hell.” Now THAT was how you gimmick commented.
Helen Mirren was engineered to be as charming as a person can possibly be
true, the “really really attractive” is just icing
Indeed.
What a backwards world, where Helen Mirren has to kiss Vin Diesel’s ass to be in a movie.Not a slight against Ms. Mirren…I love her. Truly. And deeply.
I dont necessarily think she had to kiss his ass to be in a movie. She would have def been in the next one. She got him to change the movie they were currently doing to fit her in, and it was an important role, as opposed to a minor cameo (like Cardi B)
gotta feel bad for some folks like Ian McKellen who maybe got stuck with only tennis balls and green screens and just missed out on the fun interactive ways they are finding now, vis a vis Mandalorian, to basically turn these huge productions into: community theatre. It has all come around to the people actually standing there talking to each other again. Unless you look at that garbage justice league horseapple
Bullshit, justice league had Whedon put Ezra Miller’s face on Gal Gadot(stunt double)‘s chest, you don’t get closer to people than that
This is a literal Dame of the British Empire, with a literal Triple Crown, impeccable artistic credentials, and whose cinematographic brilliance nobody questions, stating with the glee of a child in a candyshop how she loves and enjoys taking part in the magic of modern action movies, showing respect for the professionals of this genre…Meanwhile the likes of Coppola (whose last actual successful movie is from 30 years ago!), Scorcese (who “blessed” us with the “masterpiece” The Irishman), Villeneuve (an overrated pretentious average director), and Ridley Scott (from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant) whiny about how superhero movies are preventing them of being seem by the geniuses they are and getting their due acclamation…
It’s funny how British actors of around that age— Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, etc— have done Shakespeare and other “high art” types of things but also have a ton of schlocky nonsense on their resumes as well— not just from when they were up-and-comers but scattered throughout their careers right up to now. And also how they’re perfectly happy (usually) to have done those projects too, sometimes (as here) enthusiastic and engaged about it.
I’m here for a whole movie made up of BMF older lady actors doing ‘Fast and Furious’ style stunts. Let’s have Mirren, Judi Dench, Nichelle Nichols, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson. Give ‘em a bunch of fast cars and a heist and let the ticket sales roll in.
I watched F9 last year without having seen any of the prior movies in the series and my main takeaway was that Diesel and Mirren have palpable sexual chemistry in the movie
She’s shared the screen with Disel for about 8 minutes tops across the franchise, yet she crackles with far more energy and life than Michelle Rodriguez, who has amassed about 10 hours of screen time with Disel over two decades.
Well, to be fair, Mirren and I have palpable sexual chemistry and we’ve never even been in the same room together.
She guest appeared on Top Gear & drove on the track & did not have the worst time
I see her point. Close here but technically still not behind the wheel.