Dame Helen Mirren: “I’m Hopeless At Voiceovers”

Dame Helen Mirren has admitted she considers herself “hopeless” at voiceovers, despite playing the voice of Headmistress Hardscrabble in the new Disney-Pixar release Monsters University.
 
The 67-year-old actress says she wishes she had been in the room when “masters” John Goodman and Billy Crystal were recording their parts for the movie because “it’s a learning process and they do it so brilliantly.”
 
The film sees Mirren play the voice of Headmistress Hardscrabble, legendary Scarer and Dean of the School of Scaring at Monsters University, and the actress says she remembers being “so frightened” during her interview with the headmistress of her own grammar school years ago. 
 
But Mirren says “She gave me the best advice – the worst thing about fear is fear itself. She was scary but ultimately wise.”
 
Speaking about the film’s key storyline of working hard to become a success, Mirren added:
 
“It’s very annoying to go though life watching people who never seem to be challenged, and who just get everything they want without having to work for it.
 
“The rest of us who do have to struggle and fight get knocked back, and we have to come forward again, because most of us have to fight.
 
“There are a privileged few who just seem to waft through life without meeting any adversity or difficulty."
 
Mirren revealed her key tips for success are making bold choices if you have the opportunity to do so, and pretending not to be frightened even if you are.
 
She added that as an actress she continues to learn all the time, and said “The people you learn from the most are very young people, I love working with young actors.”
 
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