Appearing in a pre-recorded interview on Sunday's Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN, English actress Helen Mirren -- known for portraying the part of Queen Elizabeth II -- lavishly praised Hillary Clinton as someone with "enormous intelligence," "brilliance," and a "very, very, very fast-moving" brain.
And, although she ended up hedging on whether she would actually vote for Clinton if she could, Mirren declared that it would be "absolutely fantastic" if a woman were elected President next year because she believes it would give a boost to actresses looking for more distinguished characters to play.
As she discussed the traditional difficulty of actresses to find work as they age, Mirren brought up the possibility of a Clinton presidency:
I've always said, "Don't worry about roles in drama." Well, do moan and complain -- and I do. But really spend your energies on changing roles for women in real life because, as night follows day, as the roles for women in real life change, they will change in drama. And I really hope that we're going to see a female President in the next -- when are the elections?
After host Fareed Zakaria related that the next presidential election is in 2016, Mirren enthused:
So I hope we see a female President next year. That would be absolutely fantastic, and that would make a huge difference to the understanding of what women could be.
After the CNN host asked if the actress would be able to change her accent to play the part of a President Clinton, Mirren gushed:
She would be a wonderful person to play somewhere down the line. Someone will do a story because she's had, what an extraordinary trajectory and brilliance, brilliance at handling her world and what unbelievable challenges she's had over the years.
Zakaria's request for a comparison and contrast between Clinton and Queen Elizabeth II inspired additional gushing:
That's a very interesting question. I mean, the enormous intelligence, the brain that I think is very, very, very fast-moving, And I think the incredible tenacity. The Queen of -- Elizabeth Windsor I'll call her -- it's a different, hers is a just, "Put my head down, I'll do what I'm supposed to do, I do it as well as I can, and I don't argue, and I don't complain, and I just do it."
Hillary is much fiercer than that. It's, you know, she's a lioness of a kind, a lioness. And Elizabeth Windsor is not, you know. I don't know what animal she is. I'll have to think about that one.
After Zakaria asked the next logical question -- whether the English actress would vote for Clinton if she could -- Mirren pulled back:
FAREED ZAKARIA: I take it from the comment, if you had a vote in the United States, you'd vote for Hillary.
HELEN MIRREN: I wouldn't say that I would necessarily do that. I don't know. I'd have to really see who, you know, what the whole picture is. But I'm just saying, in terms of roles for women in drama -- I'm being very self-interested at this point -- it would be good for that to have Hillary as a President, I think.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Sunday, August 30, Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN:
HELEN MIRREN: I've always said, "Don't worry about roles in drama." Well, do moan and complain -- and I do. But really spend your energies on changing roles for women in real life because, as night follows day, as the roles for women in real life change, they will change in drama. And I really hope that we're going to see a female President in the next -- when are the elections?
FAREED ZAKARIA: Twenty-sixteen.
MIRREN: Twenty-sixteen. Oh, not till then, a while -- oh, next year. So I hope we see a female President next year. That would be absolutely fantastic, and that would make a huge difference to the understanding of what women could be.
ZAKARIA: Do you think you could pull off the accent for Hillary Clinton?
MIRREN (LAUGHING): She'd be a -- she would be a wonderful person to play somewhere down the line. Someone will do a story because she's had, what an extraordinary trajectory and brilliance, brilliance at handling her world and what unbelievable challenges she's had over the years.
ZAKARIA: If you were to compare the two -- the Queen and Hillary -- what is the defining character of Hillary Clinton that you, as somebody playing her -- imagine you playing her -- what would you be trying to capture?
MIRREN: That's a very interesting question. I mean, the enormous intelligence, the brain that I think is very, very, very fast-moving, And I think the incredible tenacity. The Queen of -- Elizabeth Windsor I'll call her -- it's a different, hers is a just, "Put my head down, I'll do what I'm supposed to do, I do it as well as I can, and I don't argue, and I don't complain, and I just do it."
Hillary is much fiercer than that. It's, you know, she's a lioness of a kind, a lioness. And Elizabeth Windsor is not, you know. I don't know what animal she is. I'll have to think about that one.
ZAKARIA: I take it from the comment, if you had a vote in the United States, you'd vote for Hillary.
MIRREN: I wouldn't say that I would necessarily do that. I don't know. I'd have to really see who, you know, what the whole picture is. But I'm just saying, in terms of roles for women in drama -- I'm being very self-interested at this point -- it would be good for that to have Hillary as a President, I think.
