Flashback

12 Divine Archive Photographs Of A Young Helen Mirren

26 July 2022

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Over the course of her more than 50-year-long career, Helen Mirren has done it all, including an Oscar-winning turn as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen; an inimitable performance as DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect (for which she was awarded three consecutive Best Actress BAFTAs and an Emmy); and a Tony-scooping role in Peter Morgan’s drama The Audience.

It’s easy to see, then, why many forget that Mirren started her career as a bright young upstart at the National Youth Theatre – playing the female lead in its production of Antony and Cleopatra at just 20-years-old. Her reputation there led to her joining the Royal Shakespeare Company before she made a startling decision; just as her career appeared to be taking off, she decamped for Peter Brook’s avant-garde International Centre for Theatre Research in Paris before travelling around Africa with the legendary director to study the history of performance.

“I had just done four years at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and my career had begun to cook a little – television, the odd film role; I was on the cusp,” she told British Vogue of the choice in the March 2018 issue. “When I announced to my agent that I was moving to Paris, they thought I was committing career suicide.”

As it turned out, working with Brook allowed her to hone her craft away from the spotlight – ultimately leading her to the realisation that she did, in fact, belong on screen. “I realised I wanted a startling career. I was vain and ambitious and, yes, I wanted to be personally successful, rather than famous. I wasn’t so righteous, or so committed to my utter submergence into the artistic life. I wanted a bit more fun than that.” And fun she had, going on to conquer Hollywood – in large part thanks to her training as a classical stage actor.

As Mirren turns 77, revisit the most remarkable archive photographs of the future dame as a young theatre star.

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By Hannah Coates

Image may contain: Helen Mirren, Face, Human, Person, Finger, Clothing, and Apparel

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1/12
1965
In rehearsals for the National Youth Theatre’s production of Antony And Cleopatra.
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2/12
1965
Viewing a portrait taken by Hampstead-based artist Nicholas Egan following her NYT debut.
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3/12
1965
In a reading for the NYT with fellow actors Michael Croft and John Nightingale.
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4/12
1966
Meeting with journalists ahead of her turn in Charley’s Aunt at Little University Theatre in Manchester.

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5/12
1967
Enjoying a rare moment off-stage on the banks of a river.
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6/12
1967
Mirren with her then-boyfriend, fellow stage actor Bruce Myers.
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7/12
1967
On stage during a performance of The Revenger’s Tragedy at Aldwych Theatre.
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8/12
1968
Performing in Troilus and Cressida at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford.