Helen Mirren went from criticizing Netflix to starring in one of the streamer’s new movies

Standing in front of thousands of movie theater owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas in 2019, Dame Helen Mirren uttered two words that were met with thunderous applause.

“Fuck Netflix!”

Six years later, weeks away from starring in the Netflix original movie, “The Thursday Murder Club,” the 80-year-old actor emits a wry laugh when reminded of her explosive proclamation.

“Before saying that I did say, ‘I love Netflix,'” Mirren told Business Insider over the phone. (She’s right: her full comment was, “I love Netflix, but fuck Netflix!”) That quote, she added, was specifically about how the rise of streaming has threatened the existence of the communal moviegoing experience.

“Many generations of people enjoy the process of going to the cinema and crying or laughing around strangers. That is a special experience. So my words, it was really related to that.” Mirren said. “And I have to say, Ted Sarandos was understanding in what I meant.” 

The Oscar, Tony, and Emmy winner didn’t have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a project on the streamer, either. As a fan of the Richard Osman book series of the same name, which follows a group of amateur detectives solving cold cases in an English retirement home, Mirren thought she would be a good fit to play the Thursday Murder Club’s no-nonsense ex-spy Elizabeth Best, who’s one of the club’s founders.

“In the back of my mind while reading, I did wonder, ‘Will they ever make these into a movie? Because I would love to play this role,'” Mirren said.

Mirren got her chance. The resulting film is an entertaining whodunit in which Mirren leads an ensemble cast stacked with talented actors, from Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie to Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, Richard E. Grant, and Naomi Ackie.

Being a fan of the source material came with its own pressure to embody the character right.

“With a book that’s so popular, there is a responsibility because you don’t want to disappoint people who love it,” Mirren said. “I don’t want people watching the movie and going, ‘I loved it, but I didn’t think Helen Mirren was great as Elizabeth.'”

If the pressure from fans seems minor compared to the responsibility of playing the Queen of England — Mirren won an Oscar playing Queen Elizabeth in the 2006 drama “The Queen” — well, Mirren disagrees.

“In a weird way, it’s harder to play the imaginary character, especially if it’s a character from a beloved book. With the Queen, you just have to sound like the Queen, walk like her, dress like her,” she said. “With Elizabeth, from costuming forward, everything you do, you have to engage in other people’s imagination of what they think she would look and act like. That was a challenge to get that right. “

That said, Mirren is happy with her performance and experience on the film, and is open to doing another “Thursday Murder Club” installment if the ensemble returns. She also is setting her sights on returning to another medium: the stage.

“I didn’t want to about a year ago, but now, I love going to the theater. Every time I go, I have a yearning to be back on stage,” Mirren said.

So what changed? 

“This goes back to what I said about Netflix — the communal experience of theater is a very special experience,” she continued. “If it’s a great play and brilliantly performed, there’s nothing quite like that experience as an audience.”

In the meantime, you can enjoy “The Thursday Murder Club” from your couch.

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