Helen Mirren was amongst the esteemed guest list for TheWrap’s most recent Power Breakfast in New York this week.
During a conversation where the topic of Maggie Gyllenhaal, 37, being told she was too old to play the love interest of a 55-year-old, came up, Mirren became absolutely incensed.
Responding to the level of disrespect that women are shown in Hollywood, Helen commented on the inherent ageism that floods the mentality of male directors and producers.
“F***ing outrageous! It’s ridiculous. Honestly, I mean, it’s so annoying!”
Following with “and ’twas ever thus,” in true British fashion, Mirren used an the example of James Bond to highlight the ridiculousness of ageism.
“We all sat there, watching James Bond… James Bond got more and more geriatric and his girlfriends got younger and younger.”
Hollywood ageism is a topic that has frequently been addressed by women throughout the ages. Taking on an increasingly public face, the debate surrounding ageism reached peak ridiculousness when Amy Schumer produced a sketch about women having “expiration dates” on their attractiveness and sexuality.
Upon responding to the “limited” typecast of ‘sexual’, Mirren critiqued the label, preferring to be seen as having agency, over being seen as a sex symbol.
“Being powerful is so much more interesting than being beautiful.”
This societal bias applies to all women, regardless of whether they operate out of Hollywood or not. The inherent ageism – that is directly linked to your sexuality and status, as perceived by the public, casts a wide net around the world. Therefore the eradication of this belief is helping to be propelled, one Helen Mirren style comment at a time.