Dame Helen Mirren has "confronted" her own mortality.

Dame Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren

The 72-year-old actress has accepted death is just a part of life and the idea of not being around forever isn't something that can be ignored.

She said: "As much a part of life as anything else, [death can't be ignored].

"We are all headed in that direction, sorry to tell you! It's gonna happen. So one might as well confront it, and what better time to confront it than the latter part of your life?

"As you travel through life, you do realise that you lose friends and colleagues and death becomes a part of your life and that happens at every age. It's not just what happens to older people."

But the 'Leisure Seeker' actress - who is married to director Taylor Hackford - hasn't spent much time thinking about what happens to a person when they die.

She told the i newspaper: "I have no concept of the afterlife. I'm not into that sort of thing. No. Neither were my parents, actually."

But the Oscar-winning star knows people are living longer these days, largely thanks to healthier lifestyles.

She said: "People are living longer.

"People are living healthier lifestyles. There's much more of an understanding of what helps with longevity and enjoyment of life as long as you can, and that's to do with diet and above all exercise... I don't exercise."

The 'Red' actress is keen to stay alive well into her 90s because she's "fascinated" by changes in the modern world.

She mused: "Honestly...do you really want to live that long?

"I do in a way because I want to know... I'm so fascinated by where technology is taking us, having witnessed the world without technology.

"It's so fundamentally changed our world on so many levels."

To read the full interview with Helen, visit https://inews.co.uk/culture/helen-mirren-interview-leisure-seeker-film/.


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