Dame Helen Mirren has very simple advice for how to make it in Hollywood: “Be on time and don’t be an ass.” The Academy Award winner shared this sage piece of advice—and subtly mouthed the world ”hole" at the end of her sentence—while accepting her life time achievement award at the 28th Annual Screen Actor's Guild ceremony.
X content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Mirren was introduced by a virtual Kate Winslet, who was unable to attend the ceremony (and later won the SAG award for best actress in a miniseries, limited series, or TV movie for Mare of Easttown). Winslet referred to Mirren as “acting royalty," playfully touching on Mirren's penchant for playing monarchs. “She’s the opposite of grand,” Winslet said. “Instead, she’s the actress who wants to roll up her sleeves with the rest of us.” Noting that Mirren did not go to drama school, Winslet opined about Mirren's dedication to the craft of acting as well as her timelessness. “Your commitment and integrity inspire us all,” said Winslet. “Women just get better with age.”
Winslet then passed over introduction duties to Cate Blanchett, who was present at the ceremony—and quipped that the SAGs “got another Cate” to introduce Mirren due to Winslet's perhaps unexpected absence. After a montage featuring clips from Mirren's vast body of work, including The Queen, Calendar Girls, and Collateral Beauty, Blanchett welcomed Mirren to the stage to a rapturous standing ovation from the crowd.
“I hate to say the word SAG at my age—it’s always ‘S-A-G’ for me," quipped the 76-year-old Mirren while accepting the honor in a pink ensemble. Beyond the jokes, Mirren dedicated her award to her fellow actors. “I will talk about actors. Oh my god, what a brilliant idea, so original," joked Mirren. “I mean, I like to think inside the box.” Mirren said that she joined this tribe of ”rogues and vagabonds" a long time ago, and included herself in a legacy of British actresses that included Winslet, Olivia Coleman, Vanessa Kirby, and Michaela Coel.
“It's you, actors, that I want to thank," Mirren said, "For your wit and your humor—all the giggles all the laughter—I've laughed all my life, honestly. Your perception your emotional generosity, your great intelligence, and your incredible energy.”
“We change clothes, we throw up, and we suffer diarrhea” said the famously irreverent Mirren about the life of an actor. “Don’t you? I do.” Mirren then recalled performing Phaedra at the ancient Greek Theater at Epidaurus. “Standing in that 2000-year-old space, I felt the ghosts of all the ancient Greeks and vagabonds. I felt their fear, their sweat, their elation and I felt as one with them.”
“Actors—I'm sorry, you're a magnificent tribe, stretching across culture, history, and time,” Mirren said to close out her speech. “This is for the actors."
— Inside Writing an Oscar-Nominated Song With Beyoncé
— How Did These Become the Most Watched Oscar Speeches on YouTube?
— Inside Outer Range, Josh Brolin’s Trippy Western Thriller Series
— Pachinko Promises an Epic Tale, and a History-Making Show
— Beyond Best Picture: Five Downballot Oscar Nominees to Stream Now
— Sign up for the “Awards Insider” newsletter for must-read industry and awards coverage.
