Even the best actors of all time have to shoot their shot when it comes to bagging a big Hollywood role. And in the case of Helen Mirren and the Fast and Furious, the star wasn’t afraid to show her ‘fan of the franchise’ status when it came time to score the gig.
During an interview on The Drew Barrymore show, Mirren discussed her casting in the Fast and Furious franchise and how she had a “fangirl” moment with her fellow Fast and Furious cast member Vin Diesel. According to the star, she approached Diesel at a party and said, “oh gosh, I would so love to be in one of your movies with you.”
“I was shameless. It was embarrassing, really,” she continued. “But he made a little space for me in his movies, which I was very thrilled about.”
Mirren’s casting was a blessing to fans, so ultimately, Diesel made the right call to take her up on the request. Playing the Fast and Furious character Magdalene “Queenie” Shaw, Mirren made her IP debut in the 2017 action movie The Fate of the Furious, and would go on to appear in Hobbs & Shaw, and F9.
In fact, Mirren is such a hit in the Fast and Furious movies, that she is also set to appear in the new movie Fast and Furious 10 – titled Fast X. So yeah, everything worked out for the best.
Fast X races into theatres on May 19, 2023. If you want to catch up on the series beforehand, you can read our Fast and Furious 9 review. Or why not look over our lists of the best movies of all time?
