Helen Mirren Believes Men Would 'Look Much Better with a Bit of Makeup'
We caught up with the L’Oréal Paris ambassador while she was at Cannes.
The space where Dame Helen Mirren’s acting career began also happens to be the same space where she was introduced to makeup: the theater. In 1965, Mirren played the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the National Youth Theater in London. Since then, Mirren has settled into an illustrious career—she’s the only actor to have won the Triple Crown of Acting in the US (Oscars, Emmy, and Tony awards) and the UK (BAFTA Film, BAFTA Television, and Laurence Olivier awards. At the same time, the actress, and L’Oréal Paris ambassador, has also grown more comfortable and confident within the world of beauty.
For the Cannes Film Festival, the realms of beauty and movies collide for Mirren. In the South of France, Mirren joined other members of the L’Oréal Paris family, including Viola Davis, Elle Fanning, and Andie MacDowell, to celebrate the Lights on Women’s Worth award, a prize awarded to one rising female filmmaker that also aims to address the film industry’s under-representation of women.
Below, we caught up with Mirren while she was at Cannes to talk about her festival experience, her upcoming film, ‘The Thursday Murder Club,’ why men should wear makeup, and more.
Coveteur: How has your Cannes Film Festival experience been with L'Oréal?
Helen Mirren: “It's always great with L'Oréal. I'm so privileged to have this opportunity to come and enjoy Cannes in this way, do a fabulous red carpet where you have the best team that you could possibly have working on your hair, makeup, and wardrobe. And they take very good care of you. It's one of the great pleasures of being a L'Oréal Paris ambassador.”
What's your favorite moment been so far?
HM: “I think my favorite moment happened yesterday. I was in the car, headed to the red carpet from the hotel. The Palais where the red carpet takes place is only about two hundred yards away but there’s always a huge traffic jam, so it takes about a half an hour to get there. But in that half an hour, you look out the window, and you see this wonderful parade of people, some dressed to the nines because they're going to a premiere, some just walking their dogs, some kids coming off the beach. There’s this wonderful mix of people, and nowhere else is quite like that. You don’t see it in Venice, you don’t see it at the Oscars, that sense of being in a world of glamour and beauty while at the same time being in the town of Cannes. I love that.”
Did you have a relationship with beauty when you were younger?
HM: “Not really. I couldn’t afford it when I was younger. Even my mother had no money for those kinds of things. Also, the products that are available now just didn’t exist back then. Incidentally, on that subject, one of the things I love about L'Oréal Paris is that it’s accessible financially. It’s not eye-wateringly expensive; it’s a quality product with the best technology available. For me, that’s very important because I grew up without money to spend on beauty products.
“I didn’t really know about makeup until I got to the theater. I didn’t know how to make myself up; I had to be taught. Then over the years, I’ve learned and now I love makeup. I love the way makeup can really transform the way you look.”
Who taught you how to do your makeup?
HM: “Well, actually, I kind of taught myself. When I first came into the theater, the makeup was rather extreme; it was almost like a mask. And I realized you didn’t need to go that far.
“It’s very interesting, when you do a movie, the director has you do a camera test with no makeup then you go off to the makeup trailer and put on a little bit of eyeshadow, mascara, a bit of blush, and a bit of definition on your lips and eyebrows. Then you go back and do another camera test, and you look as if you've got no makeup on, but your face has come alive. It's clear as day. Makeup really defines your face. I wish men would wear more makeup. I look at men and often go, "You know what? You'd look much better with a bit of makeup on."
What about skincare? How has your relationship with it changed over the years?
HM: “Well, I think my relationship with it has changed with the technology and availability. Nothing will make you miraculously look 20 years younger. That doesn't happen, but you will look better. So, I love modern products. They're light, they're not heavy. I don't just use one thing. I switch around all the time.”
Going back to L'Oréal Paris—what does their support for women in film with the Lights on Women’s Worth Awards mean to you?
HM: “It's great, and it makes me so proud to be a part of this brand. It’s incredibly important for these filmmakers to have their films recognized. And to have it in Cannes, the center of film as art, is really important.
“When I was young, there were no women directors. It was a sort of weird accepted fact that women couldn't direct films. But, of course, they could. They just were never given the opportunity. What Lights On Women in Film does is showcase their work, and in showcasing their work, it makes opportunity accessible to them. It recognizes that, yes, not only women, but young women can [direct films]. It's very exciting because it means that the whole world of storytelling in film is going to change in the future. It already has, incidentally, in the last 10 years, but it will change further.”
Going back to L'Oréal Paris—what does their support for women in film with the Lights on Women’s Worth Awards mean to you?
HM: “It's great, and it makes me so proud to be a part of this brand. It’s incredibly important for these filmmakers to have their films recognized. And to have it in Cannes, the center of film as art, is really important.
“When I was young, there were no women directors. It was a sort of weird accepted fact that women couldn't direct films. But, of course, they could. They just were never given the opportunity. What Lights On Women in Film does is showcase their work, and in showcasing their work, it makes opportunity accessible to them. It recognizes that, yes, not only women, but young women can [direct films]. It's very exciting because it means that the whole world of storytelling in film is going to change in the future. It already has, incidentally, in the last 10 years, but it will change further.”
What can you tell us about your upcoming film, “The Thursday Murder Club”?
HM: “‘The Thursday Murder Club’ is a film based on a very successful novel in Britain, and I think also in America, with the same name. It was one of those books that came out of nowhere and everybody read and loved, and everybody said to everybody else, ‘You must read this book. It's great.’ And I was one of those people who read the book.
“And while reading it, I thought, ‘Oh, I wonder if they're ever going to make this into a movie. And if they do, I wonder if they're ever going to ask me to be in it.’ And brilliantly, they are making it into a movie, and they did ask me to be in it. So, that was a little bit of a dream come true, in a way.. I've been filming back in England, which I haven't worked in for a long time. I'm very thrilled to be back in my home country and with actors that I've worked with many years ago, like Ben Kingsley—we were in the theater together. We started out together as young actors. I'm so excited about that.”
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