An old-school clip of Dame Helen Mirren shutting down sexism is reminding us all what a queen she is.
The short film shows the actress being interviewed by Sir Michael Parkinson back in 1975 when she is still an up-and-coming star.
Parkinson opens the interview by asking Mirren if she finds her “equipment” hinders her in the pursuit of becoming a “serious actress”.
But quick-witted Mirren isn’t having any any of it. She plays dumb, forcing Parkinson to explain what he means by the phrase “equipment”.
When he bashfully confirms he’s referring to her “physical attributes”, Mirren responds by asking: “You mean my fingers?”
Once Parkinson finally clarifies that he’s asking whether her “figure” distracts audiences, Mirren proves she’s a feminist through and through.
“I can’t say that would necessarily be true,” she says.
“I mean what a crummy performance if people are obsessed with the size of your bosom over anything else.
“I would hope that the performance and the play and the living relationship between all the people on the stage and all the people in the audience would overcome such … boring questions, really.”
The interview first went viral in 2008 when it was posted on YouTube, but it’s been doing the rounds again this week after The Tab featured it in an article titled ‘A brief history of women shutting down sexist interview questions’.
In 2011, Mirren addressed the infamous clip in an interview with The Telegraph and admitted she was “terrified” while standing up to Parkinson becaus it was her first talk show appearance.
“I watched it and I actually thought, bloody hell! I did really well,” she said.
“I was so young and inexperienced. And he was such a fucking sexist old fart. He was. He denies it to this day that it was sexist, but of course he was.”
Isn’t she just the best?
