Dame Helen Mirren spoke with Markos Papadatos about her new movie “A Talent for Murder” at the New York premiere, which was held at AMC Lincoln Square 13 in New York City.
At the New York premiere of the film, Mirren was dressed in black by Matiere Fecales with a purse by Tyler Ellis, and jewelry by Margot McKinney.
The psychological thriller “A Talent for Murder,” directed by Anton Corbihn, was released to theaters on October 23, 2026, via Bleecker Street and LD Entertainment.
The synopsis is: A young literary editor Edward Ridgeway (played by Alden Ehrenreich) travels from New York to Switzerland to try to persuade acclaimed thriller writer Patricia Highsmith (Oscar winner Helen Mirren) to write one final installment of her Tom Ripley series, with his efforts gradually turning more sinister.
Bette Davis once said: “Without wonder and insight, acting is just a trade. With it, it becomes creation.” This quote applies to Helen Mirren.
Playing Patricia Highsmith
To portray and embody her character, Mirren relied on dark contact lenses and a distinctive blunt-bobbed wig.
Mirren was drawn to playing Patricia Highsmith for several reasons. “I loved the number of words she had to say, and the fact that she was such a strong, interesting, complicated, unlikable, but at the same time fascinating character,” she said.
“You know, that is a dream for an actress to have a role like that,” she attested. “The necessity was not to impersonate, but to recreate what one knows about Patricia Highsmith.”
Working with Alden Ehrenreich
Mirren praised her luminous scene partner Alden Ehrenreich. “I had a great acting partner in Alden Ehrenreich,” she said.
“Alden is a really good actor, and he is also very smart, which especially helps with this material because it’s not visceral material, it is quite intellectual. You need someone who is ahead of the game.”
“Alden has done a lot of theatre, as I have, so there was an understanding that there is a partnership, that you are reliant upon each other in performing this. I felt that we were partners in the piece,” she elaborated.
Filming process
Regarding the filming process for this movie, Mirren remarked, “This film gave me exhaustion and intensity.”
“It was one of the hardest and most intense experiences of my life,” she noted. “We shot it very quickly… basically, my whole part in the film was shot in two weeks, so we would do 10 to 20 pages a day, and that was incredibly intense.”
“While it was very vigorous and exhausting experience, it was also very gratifying,” she noted.
“We didn’t have time for things to go wrong, and if they did go wrong, we just had to charge ahead anyway,” she said with a sweet laugh.
Mirren on her ‘liberating’ approach of taking on this role
For Mirren, her approach to portraying Highsmith was quite liberating despite the role’s biographical origins.
“Unlike playing Golda Meir or Elizabeth II, where that image is so familiar to people, especially since they know exactly what they look like, what they sound like, so you have to fulfill those requirements for people to believe that you are that person… with Patricia Highsmith, only a small coterie of the literary world knew what she looked and sounded like. Most people didn’t,” she elaborated.
“Overall, it was a very special experience for me,” she added.
Lessons learned from the screenplay
On the lessons learned from this script, Mirren reflected, “Well, it did not teach me much really because I am nothing like Patricia Highsmith on any level whatsoever.”
“So, my performance of her was very much stepping into just a different sensibility to my own,” she noted.
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, Mirren jokingly revealed, “It’s All Downhill from Here.”
Companion of Honor (CH)
Earlier in 2026, Mirren was made a Companion of Honor for her services to drama. “I would like to communicate how incredibly proud I am of being offered to become a Companion of Honour to my country, Britain, the country that I love so much,” Mirren expressed.
“This an amazing moment for me, I have to say absolutely extraordinary. I would never have believed this, you know, in my early teens and upper 20s. So, as an 80 year-old, I’m absolutely thrilled. Thank you so much,” she said effusively.
Most recently, in October of 2026, Mirren was recognized with the “Legend of Entertainment Award” at the 29th SCAD Savannah Film Festival.
Mirren recalls performing in the historic theaters in Greece
In July of 2009, Mirren starred as the title character in the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of the neoclassical Jean Racine tragedy “Phèdre” at the Ancient Theatre at the Asklepieion of Epidaurus in Greece.
“Oh, that was incredible. That was one of the major, major acting experiences of my life, being in Epidaurus, playing Phèdre there. It was absolutely extraordinary,” she exclaimed.
“In fact, I was back in Greece quite recently, seeing ‘The Persians,’ and I couldn’t believe I was sitting in the audience where I had actually been on that stage. That was amazing,” she acknowledged.
Mirren on her love for Greece
For Mirren, she had a fondness and affinity for Greece. “I love many, many things about Greece,” she said.
“Obviously, the sea, the light, nature, and the food… but honestly, in the end, it’s the Greek people that I love the most.”
Success
Regarding her definition of the word success, Mirren responded, “Success means more than just talent. I always say to beware of both failure and success because both are kind of equally dangerous.”
“Of course, it is more pleasant to have success than to have failure, but success can lead you down the wrong path just as easily as failure can,” she noted.
“Also, understand that both are absolutely a part of one’s life, and accept that fact,” the iconic dame concluded.
To learn more about Oscar winner Helen Mirren, follow her on Instagram.
Read More: Rave review of “A Talent for Murder”
