Dame Helen Mirren dreams of playing a Bond villain.

Dame Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren

The 73-year-old actress has revealed she's always harboured a secret ambition of starring in the film franchise, although she doesn't intend to campaign for a role.

She said: "[Woman] get to play much cooler villains these days. But I've always had a secret ambition to play a villain in a James Bond movie."

Asked whether she might try to further her case for a role in a Bond film, Helen told new issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine: "I'm not very proactive in that way. James Bond is such a well-oiled machine. It's hard to put a spoke in that wheel."

Helen has been cast in the role of Mother Ginger in 'The Nutcracker and the Four Realms', which also features Keira Knightley and Morgan Freeman.

And the veteran star has admitted to relishing the on-set experience of working on the fantasy film.

She shared: "The costumes! My God! Every costume is a complete work of art.

"I'm eternally fascinated and impressed by the artisanal craftsmen behind the camera. You walk into the studio and you're in a forest. It smells like a forest. It looks like a forest. It's extraordinary. I was just dying to take photographs. But Disney is very, very secretive, and you can't take photographs."

Although Helen is excited about the role, she admitted she can't reveal too many details about the movie.

She said: "She's fabulous and funny, and becomes bitter and angry."