![\"Helen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Helen-Mirren-Actor-2016-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ YouTube Still<\/p>\n
Sun 7 June 2026 18:15, UK <\/p>\n
Helen Mirren<\/a> is one of Hollywood\u2019s most accomplished and celebrated actors \u2013 would she ever do anything just for the money? <\/p>\n She might not admit to the crime outright, but quite frankly, she wouldn\u2019t be an actor at all if that weren\u2019t the case. They can be our Hollywood heroes and seemingly most civilised thespians, but at the end of the day, if bills need to be paid and the offers to your agent have run thin of late, you\u2019ve got to do what you\u2019ve got to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, this is not an excuse to create a free-for-all, and actors to star in whatever old shit they like just so the cheques keep rolling in, but on certain occasions, as an audience member, you have to cut your losses and accept that not every movie your favourite star appears in is going to be a true artistic revelation.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Mirren\u2019s case, her version of that state of affairs<\/a> was seen most of all in the 2007 action and adventure film National Treasure: Book of Secrets, in which she starred as Dr Emily Appleton, the mother of the central character Ben Gates, played by Nicolas Cage, who helps the gang decipher clues to find the secrets of a lost city.\u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t know about anyone else, but I\u2019m scouring the streaming platforms right now for it. Naturally, it was hardly a product of high art, despite featuring a massive cast including the likes of Ed O\u2019Brien \u2013 who openly confessed to it being a cash-grab<\/a> \u2013 Jon Voight and Diane Kruger alongside the heavyweights. Even more predictably, it wasn\u2019t loved by the critics, but audiences still lapped it up. <\/p>\n When it came to the reasons for her own participation, Mirren took on the voice of the naysayers. \u201cWhy do something as fun as this, why do something as exciting as this, why on earth do something as popular as this, why do something as well-budgeted as this? Is she insane?\u201d, she mocked herself by saying.\u00a0<\/p>\n But then, trying to assume a mantle of reality, she continued: \u201cNo, she\u2019s really, really sensible. She knew what she needed to do. I\u2019m not talking about career move, I\u2019m just talking about my personal pleasure, my personal fun.\u201d Watch out: there was very nearly a slip of the tongue there into much more dodgy, monetary territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n There\u2019s no denying that for a seasoned classic actor like her, there is going to be something joyful in just allowing herself to be free for a moment, have fun, perform massive stunts, and not be weighted down by the shackles of an intense character fighting for their life or being faced with world-altering consequences. <\/p>\n Yet at the same time, she should also just be allowed to call a spade a spade. If the job was taken purely for the big bucks, then there\u2019s nothing overly wrong with admitting that, even if society\u2019s standards would make you think otherwise. Actors are making a living just like the rest of us \u2013 but it might involve a lot more fire, flips, and big-budget productions along the way.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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