306 Quotes by Helen Mirren

I don’t like the word ‘strong,’ because a strong character is never an interesting character. A character is made interesting by their vulnerabilities and their weaknesses.

I don’t mind being sexy, but on my terms. To this day, I love sexuality. I love the art of sexuality. I love Lady Gaga and the performance of sexuality. The mysterious, the artistic and the slightly perverse. I’m interested in all that.

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.

It’s great to be queen!

I am so happy that I didn’t have children. Well, you know, because I’ve had freedom. And I’ve so loved my freedom.

My parents believed in education and economic security, and I thank them for it. Because I think that’s part of what’s made my life stable. It was instilled in me. You have to be able to pay your bills. You do not get into debt. And I never have been.

When I’m choosing projects to be a part of it’s always a combination of so many different things. The primary thing is the director. But a very important element is, is it different enough from anything else I’ve ever done, or what I’ve last done.

I still have a Gypsy sense of adventure. I don’t think I have slept in the same bed for more than three or four months my whole life. I am always planting vegetables that I never get to eat and flowers that I never see flower. I have always moved around the world.

There’s a heartbeat in any country that carries on regardless – at least in Europe. That’s what worries me about America, because I’m not sure what that heartbeat is – unless it’s the heartbeat of someone who’s just arrived, who just ran over the border two weeks ago.