Dame Helen Mirren, a strong contender for the title of Greatest Actress Of All Time, has joined the cast of Fast and Furious 8. Nothing about that is a joke.
Dame Helen first dropped the news in – where else – an interview with Elle about a very serious war film she just made:
So you are confirmed to be in Fast 8?
Yes, I am.
Are you a fan of cars?
Well, yes. I’ve always rather loved driving. I said, ‘I’ll be in it, but only if I’m allowed to drive if I do drive in it.’ But we’ll see. We’ll see how it transpires. Film is a wonderful thing and it can be so many different things. I don’t want to turn my back on any of the different ways movies can be. I love the movies. I love going to the films. I like very serious films, I love foreign films, and I love big, fun movies–as long as they’re well made and they’ve got good scripts. That’s the most important thing.
The news was then confirmed by the Fast 8 Twitter account, because who the hell would believe it on the first go-around:
I wish I could say something snarky or funny about this. But I am in so much awe that I have no snark to give.
She first expressed an interest in being in the film over a year ago, which we thought she was kidding about at the time, because she had to be, right? In case you missed it the first time, her list of accolades include an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild awards, a Critic’s Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, an Olivier Award, a Tony Award, along with the whole Dame thing.
Her awards alone have their own dam Wikipedia page. Dame Helen, one of the most gifted artists of our time, appearing in the film series that once had this scene in it:
Say it with me now: “More than you can afford, PAL. Ferrari.”
Fast 8 stars Dame Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, and of course, Vin Diesel. It will chuck cars out of buildings in Cleveland and it will kill horses, and it will be the greatest and best film of all time.
H/t to Road & Track!