WEEK.
GUEST JESSICA CHASTAIN HOSTED
WITH TROY SAVANT AS MUSICAL
GUEST.
>>> DAME HELEN MIRREN IS
HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY.
HER CAREER HAS SPANNED FIVE
DECADES AND A LONG LIST OF
IMPRESSIVE CREDITS.
ONE ROLE SEEMS TO KEEP POPPING
UP, HER ROLE AS THE QUEEN.
SHE WON A BEST ACTRESS OSCAR FOR
HER PORTRAYAL AFTER TAKING AN
AWARD FOR OTHER ROLES.
BUT THERE IS A PAIR OF UPCOMING
NEW ROLES.
HELEN AND I GOT TOGETHER IN NEW
YORK FOR A SUNDAY SIT-DOWN.
>> WHEN HOSTING A DAME OF THE
BRITISH EMPIRE, KEEP IN MIND
PROPER TEA SERVICE.
>> WHAT IS IT?
>> THAT'S A COFFEE POT.
>> WE'VE ALREADY BLOWN IT.
ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DAME IS
HELEN MIRREN.
I THINK WE SHOULD BEGIN WITH THE
GLARING ERROR HERE ON OUR TEA
SET, WHICH IS NOT A TEA SET AT
ALL.
>> IT'S A COFFEE SET, THAT'S FOR
SURE.
IF I WERE YOUR TEACHER, IT WOULD
BE A FOR EFFORT, ABSOLUTELY, BUT
A C-MINUS FOR THE REST.
>> A PASSING GRADE FOR THE
72-YEAR-OLD ACTRESS BEST KNOWN
FOR PLAYING BRITISH ROYALTY.
YOU'VE WON EVERY POSSIBLE AWARD
FOR PLAYING THE QUEEN.
>> THEY LOVE GIVING AWARDS TO
QUEENS, I DON'T KNOW WHY.
THEY DO.
NO ONE REALLY QUITE REALIZED
THAT YOU COULD DO IT, YOU KNOW,
AND THEN, OH, YEAH, WE CAN.
YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DO THIS.
>> WAS IT DIFFICULT GOING IN?
>> IT WAS QUITE DICEY, IT WAS.
ONLY BECAUSE THE BRITISH PEOPLE
HAVE SUCH AN EXTRAORDINARY,
PASSIONATE INVOLVEMENT WITH
THEIR MONARCHY.
>> THERE IS NO ONE WHO KNOWS THE
BRITISH PEOPLE BETTER THAN I DO,
MR. BLAIR.
>> I'VE MET THE QUEEN ON SEVERAL
OCCASIONS, YES.
WE SHARE A LITTLE SPARKLE.
NEITHER MENTIONS IT, BUT WE BOTH
KNOW IT'S THERE SORT OF THING.
>> BUT SHE DOESN'T ACKNOWLEDGE
IT, JUST A BIT OF A WINK?
>> YES.
NO, NOT A WINK.
THE QUEEN DOESN'T WINK.
>> MIRREN'S FASCINATION WITH
ACTING BEGAN WHEN SHE WAS JUST A
YOUNG GIRL IN THE 1950s.
>> DO YOU REMEMBER THE MOMENT
YOU GOT THE ACTING BUG?
>> I GREW UP IN A TOWN THAT'S
THE BRITISH EQUIVALENT OF CONEY
ISLAND.
WE HAVE THE LONGEST PIER IN THE
WORLD AT SOUTH ISLAND SEA.
MY PARENTS TOOK ME TO SEE A
VARIETY SHOW AT THE END OF THE
PIER CALLED "OUT OF THE BLUE."
I WAS ABSOLUTELY ME SSMERIZED AND
I WANTED TO BE A PART OF THAT
WORLD.
>> SHE WAS INTRODUCED TO THE
NATIONAL YOUTH THEATER WHERE SHE
GRAVITATED TO THE WORKS OF
SHAKESPEARE AND SOON WAS INVITED
TO JOIN THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE
COMPANY.
BY 1967, THE BRITISH FILM
INDUSTRY HAD BEGUN TO TAKE
NOTICE OF A RISING STAR.
>> DO YOU WANT ME?
>> MIRREN WAS BOLD IN HER ROLES,
AND IN REAL LIFE, TOO.
>> YOU'LL FIND THAT YOUR FIGURE,
YOUR PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES, HINDER
YOU IN YOUR PURSUIT OF BEING A
PROFESSIONAL ACTRESS.
>> SERIOUS ACTORS CAN'T HAVE BIG
BOSOMS, IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN?
>> WHEN WE HEAR THESE STORIES OF
HOLLYWOOD IN THE LAST SEVERAL
MONTHS, DO YOU SAY, YES, I'VE
EXPERIENCED THAT?
>> I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT
IN HOLLYWOOD BECAUSE I WAS IN MY
30s.
I WAS TOO OLD.
WHEN I WAS BETWEEN 16 AND 23,
24, MEN WOULD EXPOSE THEMSELVES
TO ME OFTEN.
I WOULD SAY ABOUT ONCE A WEEK.
>> REALLY.
>> ON THE SUBWAY, ON THE TUBE,
ON THE BUS, WALKING DOWN A ROAD.
IT WAS LIKE, UGH.
WEIRD, BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE
YOU'RE GOING TO GO, OH, MY GOD,
THAT'S THE MOST GORGEOUS THING
I'VE EVER SEEN.
IT'S THE OPPOSITE.
IT'S HORROR.
>> MIRREN'S CAREER TOOK HER TO
HOLLYWOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
THE EARLY 1980s.
>> YOU DRIVE A MERCEDES?
>> AND WHAT DO YOU DRIVE IN THE
AMERICAN LINE?
DONKEY?
>> MIRREN MET HER LONG-TIME
PARTNER IN 1984 FOR 20 YEARS
NOW, DIRECTOR TAYLOR HACKFORD.
IT WAS SEVEN YEARS LATER WHEN
MIRREN LANDED THE BREAKTHROUGH
ROLE OF LIEUTENANT INSPECTOR
JANE TENNYSON IN THE PRIME
SUSPECT SERIES "NATURAL
SUSPECT."
BY THE TIME THE SHOW WRAPPED IN
2006, HELEN MIRREN WAS A
HOUSEHOLD NAME.
NOMINATED TWICE FOR BEST
SUPPORTING ACTRESS FIRST IN "THE
MADNESS OF KING GEORGE" AND SHE
THEN WON AS THE QUEEN.
SINCE THEN SHE'S HAD OTHER
CHOICE OF ROLES.
MIRREN'S LATEST FILM
"WINCHESTER" TAKES HER IN AN
ENTIRELY NEW DIRECTION.
>> PROFITING FROM SUCH A THING
AS VIOLENCE AND DEATH?
>> I'M SO FASCINATED BY YOUR
CHOICES.
THERE IS A MOMENT WHEN YOU WATCH
THE MOVIE, YOUR VEIL COMES UP
AND THERE'S HELEN MIRREN AND
YOU'RE CHILLING IN THE ROLE.
WHAT EXCITED YOU ABOUT PLAYING
THAT KIND OF A PART?
>> IT'S MORE OF A GHOST STORY
FILM.
I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE VERY
INTERESTING.
BUT THERE IS THIS REAL HOUSE AND
THIS REAL WOMAN, AND ONE OF THE
LEGENDS THAT GREW UP AROUND HER
WAS THAT SHE WAS BUILDING THE
HOUSE TO PLACATE THE GHOSTS OF
THE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN KILLED
BY THE WINCHESTER RIFLE.
THAT'S BASICALLY THE STORY THAT
WE EMBRACED.
INCIDENTALLY, I DON'T BELIEVE IN
GHOSTS.
DID YOU SEE THAT?
>> YOU ACTUALLY SCARED ME FOR A
SECOND.
YOU'RE GOOD AT THAT.
>> SHE FLOATED BY.
>> YES, SHE FLOATED BY.
DID YOU SEE THAT?
>> MIRREN GOES FROM A GHOST
STORY TO A ROAD TRIP IN HER NEXT
FILM.
SHE CO-STARS WITH DONALD
SUTHERLAND IN "THE LEISURE
SEEKER" ABOUT A SENIOR COUPLE'S
W
WINNEBAGO TRIP.
>> WE THOUGHT WE WOULD FLASH
SCENES OF YOU.
>> OH, WHERE I GREW UP.
I CAN ALMOST REMEMBER THAT
LITTLE SWIMMING COSTUME, YES.
THAT'S NATIONAL YOUTH THEATER WE
WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLY ON.
I PLAYED CLEOPATRA AND THAT
LAUNCH MID CAREER, ACTUALLY.
THANK GOD YOU CAN'T SEE MY
KNICKERS IN THAT ONE.
>> TO THE REST OF US MERE
MORTALS, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO HAVE
YOUR NAME CALLED LIKE THAT?
>> THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THAT.
THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT.
THAT WAS A CHRISTIAN LECROIX
DRESS MADE ESPECIALLY FOR ME.
I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED THAT
BEFORE IN MY LIFE.
>> OFTEN A ROYAL ON SCREEN, DAME
HELEN MIRREN SOUNDS A LOT LIKE
THE REST OF US AT HOME.
I HEARD YOU SAY IN AN INTERVIEW
THAT IF YOU HAD YOUR WAY, YOU
WOULD STAY HOME AT NIGHT AND
WATCH TV.
I THINK PEOPLE VIEW YOU IN SORT
OF A REGAL WAY.
PART OF IT IS THE WAY YOU CARRY
YOURSELF, PLUS YOU PLAYED THE
QUEEN.
>> I AM SO NOT REGAL, THOUGH.
I DON'T GET IT.
>> YOU LIKE TO SIT AT HOME IN
YOUR SWEAT PANTS AND WATCH
NETFLIX?
>> NOT IN MY SWEAT PANTS.
OF COURSE NOT.
TIGHT PENCIL SKIRT WITH A NEAT
LITTLE TOP AND LAPELS AND
STILETTO SHOES.
>> DAME HELEN MIRREN SAYS HER
FAVORITE SHOW TO WATCH ON
NETFLIX IS "STRANGER THINGS."
"THE LEISURE SEEKER" OPENS ON
MARCH 9.
TO HEAR WHAT SHE FACED IN THE
1960s AS A WOMAN IN FILM, CHECK
HER OUT ON OUR WEBSITE.
HELLO, DYLAN.
>> I ALSO LIKE "STRANGER
THINGS."
>> TWINS.
>> LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE
HEAVIER SNOW WE'RE GOING TO SEE,
ESPECIALLY EARLIER THIS WEEK
ACROSS MINNESOTA AND NORTHERN
WISCONSIN.
HEAVY RAIN AHEAD OF IT, AND WE
COULD SEE ISOLATED SEVERE
STORMS, TOO.
BY THE END OF THE WEEK, THAT
STORM MOVES AWAY BUT ANOTHER ONE
MOVES TO THE WEST COAST BRINGING