(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Dame Helen Mirren felt anxious about working with Russell Brand because she feared terrible things would happen.
The Oscar-winning actress teamed up with the British comic star for two movies, The Tempest and a remake of 80s comedy Arthur. Helen admits she was worried about spending time with Russell, who previously battled addictions to drugs, alcohol and sex. She has jokingly claimed she is well-behaved and feared he would turn her into a hellraiser.
I felt the same way about working with him, I was terrified, she replied during an interview with Daybreak when she was told Russell was scared of meeting her. You know, Russell Brand, the bad boy of bad boys and I am not a bad girl, Im a good girl. So when good girls meet bad boys terrible things can happen mostly to the good girls!
However, Helen was relieved when she discovered Russell is well-mannered and hardworking in real life. The 35-year-old has ditched his womanising and partying ways and is happily married to singer Katy Perry and Helen says he was a joy to be around. The pair are now great friends and Helen is full of praise for the cheeky actor.
We did Arthur together which was really wonderful and kind of sealed our friendship, she explained. There I got to see what an amazing guy he is, incredible hard worker, kindest heart in the world, funny, of course. He is a great guy.
Helen went on to speak about new movie The Tempest, in which she plays Prospera a role originally written by William Shakespeare for a man. The 65-year-old star feels passionately about Shakespeares work and believes it will always remain relevant. In fact, she claims her latest big screen outing will still be popular in decades to come unlike other box office hits.
We are out there up against big blockbuster movies like Transformers 3, although Shakespeare did write the original sword and sorcery stories. Its as if Shakespeare knew special effects would be introduced because he wrote this play just for special effects, she added. The great thing about doing Shakespeare is that you know in twenty years time when Avatar is and dont get me wrong I think Avatar was a groundbreaking, brilliant film but it will be old hat. The Tempest will be watched as fresh in twenty years time as it will be watched now. (C) Cover Media