Dame Helen Mirren has revealed she was thrown out of pubs for swearing long before she took on the role of a foul-mouthed gangland boss. The Oscar winner stars as Maeve Harrigan in MobLand, the fierce matriarch of a powerful London crime family whose language is, to say the least, colourful.
Speaking to Radio Times, the 81-year-old actress said: “Oh, my God! Every other word is the c-word or the f-word. I don’t have an issue with it at all. I’m an actor. I was thrown out of quite a few pubs in the old days when women weren’t supposed to be swearing in pubs.”
A role that fits 'like a glove'
Mirren’s character co-leads the Harrigan crime dynasty alongside her husband Conrad, played by Pierce Brosnan, but Maeve is very much the supreme power behind the throne. The actress, who has previously played both the Queen and Mrs Thatcher, admitted she is concerned by how much she enjoys playing darker roles.
She said: “She is awful. Am I shocked by her? I guess I am, but the piece inhabits a fantastical world. It’s a dreamscape really; heightened and extreme. It just fits me like a glove, and it’s slightly worrying because I hope I’m not remotely like Maeve. I absolutely love entering her world. I go home thinking, ‘Why am I enjoying this so much? Why do I feel so easy doing this?’ There must be some flaw in my character.”
Working with Tom Hardy
MobLand also stars Tom Hardy, who has been the subject of various reports regarding his behaviour and alleged friction on set. Mirren said of such media rumours: “I separate myself from all of that. I don’t read it. I don’t look at it. I don’t contribute to it.”
She has previously posted a picture of Hardy with the words “Love you now and always, Helen” and said she would reunite with him in a “heartbeat”. Reflecting on working with others, she added: “You do learn certain things as you get older. About how to work with people, really. What you learn is every single person is different; every single person has their own way of doing things. There’s not one way, there’s a million different ways. What you want is what’s on the screen, or what’s on the stage, to be great. And the only way to do that is for everyone to feel that they can be free to create and explore and experiment and f*** up.”
MobLand returns September 18.
