Fan-tastic: Dame Helen Mirren is super cool at Red 2 in sweltering Leicester Square

 
Fan fan: Dame Helen Mirren in red for the premiere of Red 2 in a sweltering Leicester Square
Dave Benett
23 July 2013
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Dame Helen Mirren kept her cool in elegant style at the premiere of Red 2 in sweltering London.

The 67-year-old, in a dramatic red beaded long-sleeved dress and Gina heels, was joined at the premiere for the sequel at the Empire Leicester Square by co-stars Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker.

The European Premiere of 'Red 2' at Empire Leicester Square on July 22, 2013 in London, England. Pic Shows: Emma Willis, Bruce Willis Pic Credit: Dave Benett

As an Oscar- and Olivier Award-winning veteran of stage and screen, it is perhaps no surprise to hear that Mirren didn’t find shooting the action movie too challenging.

Dame Helen, who came to the screening ready to keep the 30C heat at bay with her Oriental-style hand-held fan, said she had fun making Red 2 as she “did not have to act so much”.

Get shorty: singer Katie Melua dressed for the heat in Leicester Square (Picture: Dave Benett)
Dave Benett
Colour co-ordinated: Leah Weller got the theme of the night in red chiffon (Picture: Dave Benett)
Dave Benett

She no doubt meant well, but it is a sentiment that may have caused her co-stars some surprise.

The trio were in Leicester Square last night for the premiere of the action comedy sequel, in which Dame Helen reprises her role as the deadly assassin Victoria.

Lady in red: Dame Helen and husband Taylor Hackford on the red carpet
Getty

She said: “To do this kind of movie, it is out of my comfort zone to a certain extent.

“But they’re incredible fun to do, these kinds of movies. The action takes care of all the acting. In a lot of my films I have to do quite a lot of acting, so it’s quite a relief not to have to act so much.”

Dame Helen also admitted she enjoyed getting her hands on weapons for the part. She added: “I love this character. I love the clothes I get to wear and the guns, I’m afraid.”

Willis, who plays former CIA agent Frank, said: “It was great, fun, easy and funny all the time. We have some newcomers this time like Sir Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, David Thewlis and Byung-hun Lee, so that was very good.”

The comic-book sequel, directed by Dean Parisot, sees the retired black-ops agents reunite to track down a missing bomb and save the world.

Springing into action: Dame Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker (Picture: Dave Benett)
Dave Benett

Red 2 opens in cinemas on August 2.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in