'DO EVERYTHING, BUT NOT TOO MUCH OF ANYTHING'

Dame Helen Mirren on the joys of ageing, working with a stellar cast and why she isn't like the imperious characters she plays

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Dame Helen Mirren's acting career spans six decades across stage and screen, yet it's now, at the age of 80, that she finds herself busier than ever.

“It's funny, because now I'm in that world of older people, I'm getting to play so many wonderful characters who have really lived a life,” she says. “They're all so complicated and interesting, as I keep reminding people that older people are.”

The most celebrated roles in her impressive career include her portrayals of Elizabeth I in the eponymous film and Elizabeth II in The Queen, plus her steely portrayal of DCI Jane Tennison in the long-running TV crime drama Prime Suspect.

Now, she is returning to solving crimes as the retired MI6 spymaster Elizabeth Best in The Thursday Murder Club, Netflix's adaptation of Richard Osman's bestselling novel. It is directed by the US filmmaker Chris Columbus, who also directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

“It's a very British subject - a group of retired people who, instead of doing jigsaw puzzles, spend their time solving cold cases,” she says.

“The Thursday Murder Club is their way of feeling relevant and still having value, rather than just sitting about doing nothing. It's so much fun. I'm really excited about it.