Dame Helen Mirren never wanted to be a Hollywood star.
Dame Helen Mirren
The 70-year-old actress never imagined she would be able to follow her career dreams but initially set her sights on theatre work.
She said: "It was never my ambition to be a Hollywood star.
"I never even imagined that being an actress would be possible.
"I came from a family background where that world just seemed like a fortress, something you couldn't get into.
"I wasn't thinking about Hollywood because I wanted to be a theatre actress. I didn't even go to the cinema very often."
As acting was not on Helen's agenda, she initially followed the advice of her parents to train as a teacher instead.
She revealed: "They wanted me to become a teacher not an actress! So I did train as a teacher."
And though she finally achieved her dreams, the 'Eye in the Sky' star's path never ran smoothly.
She told the Daily Mail newspaper: "Somehow I've been led stumbling to the point where I am right now, which is the place I most want to be.
"It's been an endless litany of mistakes and mis-steps."
Though she didn't carve out a teaching career, Helen admitted that she did achieve one thing her parents wanted.
She said: "One very important thing that my parents always taught me was: 'You must be financially independent.'
"I take great pride and great pleasure in knowing that these days I am, indeed, financially secure, and that I have everything I have, I have earned."
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