Mirren's sexy senior moment

PROFILE | Age-defying actress Helen Mirren hopes her body of movie work speaks for itself



This is what 64 looks like these days. It comes in the form of gorgeous Helen Mirren, who in recent years has been caught in swimsuit photos that landed in the pages of magazines everywhere.
Forget all the child-woman stars out there. It's Dame Mirren who was proclaimed one of the sexiest women on the planet.

"Oh, dear," Mirren says of her age-defying status in Hollywood. "I don't think anyone would think I'm sexy if they could see me first thing in the morning! But it's still incredibly flattering."
Two words for her sex-symbol status: unretouched photos.
"Oh, I was holding my tummy in on a vacation," says Mirren of one 2008 beach shot. "I was being photographed by my husband and, at that moment, a paparazzi jumped out on the beach in Hawaii and took that picture. There must be other shots on the beach that day that are far less flattering. You saw the tummy sucking in shot.
"In the other pictures you see the truth vs. the reality," she says with a warm laugh.

The London native, who starred in "The Queen" and on TV's "Prime Suspect," would rather be known for her body of work. She stars for her director-husband, Taylor Hackford, in "Love Ranch," opening Wednesday. It's a bittersweet love story set in late 1970s Nevada in the first legal brothel. Mirren plays a madam, with Joe Pesci as her hubby.
Their lives are thrown into an upheaval when a heavyweight boxer from South America (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) comes to the Ranch, and a love triangle among the three principals results in murder.
The idea of Mirren playing a madam has created a few gasps and even more chuckles. "It's fabulous, isn't it?" she poses. "I've gone from Madam Tolstoy to a madam. What a fabulous job I have."
To research the role, Mirren spoke with a working madam. "She was absolutely invaluable," says Mirren, who adds that the biggest lesson was that being a madam is just a job. "It's a business and you must approach it as a businesswoman."
The director added another twist.
"Me as a madam married to Joe Pesci is something only my husband could come up with," she insists. "But I understood his casting once we got to the set. I felt when I watched Joe and I together on film that you really did believe that the two of us were married to each other. "
After Mirren shook off brothel life, she joined director Julie Taymor for a version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," due in December. "It was an amazing experience," Mirren says of playing Prospera. "Normally my role is played by a man, but Julie changed it."
In October, Mirren will be seen starring with Bruce Willis in the action film "Red."
She isn't sitting behind a desk. "I play a retired CIA agent and I have action scenes and stunts," says the unstoppable Mirren. "It was harrowing, of course, but that's what made it fun to do.
"I went from Shakespeare to running around with guns," she says. "How fabulous!"
As for maintaining her gorgeous figure, Mirren says,"I was given a good body. But I do feel guilty when I don't work out. I think, 'Oh, you could do better.' "

Source:suntimes.com