From The Hollywood Reporter · Mariel Turner · · 1m 20s
Helen Mirren's hardest role yet was Patricia Highsmith
Helen Mirren has played queens and prime ministers, but the Ripley author was the one she could not find herself in.
In brief
Helen Mirren has played queens and prime ministers, but the Ripley author was the one she could not find herself in. Mirren finds a role hardest when there is no common ground to build from, and Highsmith offered her almost none. Originally reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
A long list of real people
Helen Mirren has built a career on playing figures who actually lived. Her turn as writer Patricia Highsmith may be the toughest of the lot.
The role in question
Mirren plays the author of The Talented Mr. Ripley in Anton Corbijn's upcoming thriller A Talent For Murder.
Why it was difficult
She told The Hollywood Reporter at TIFF that the challenge came down to how little she and Highsmith have in common.
“I would say Patricia might be one of them, honestly, because she is so different from how I am.”
The Queen was easier
Mirren could find her way into Elizabeth II, and into Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. Highsmith sat further out of reach than either.
“I could sort of identify with Her Majesty, the Queen, to a certain extent.”
The woman in the film
Her ranking is about the version of Highsmith the script gave her, which she suspects matches who the writer became near the end of her life.
“the most difficult because of the way she's portrayed in the film”
Abrasive and reclusive
Mirren did not soften the description. She called Highsmith prickly, withdrawn, and badly damaged.
“She was very, very abrasive, very reclusive, [and] you know, basically, very fucked up.”
The headline
Mirren finds a role hardest when there is no common ground to build from, and Highsmith offered her almost none.
