British film actress Helen Mirren has called herself a “man in disguise.” A revelation for the tabloids? Is she a secret cross-dresser, or does she have some sort of sexual quirk that has hitherto escaped public scrutiny?
No, far from it. In fact, she’s merely admitting to feeling an aversion to anything overtly emotional or histrionic. As reported in the Toronto Sun, Mirren said, “I don’t really like romantic movies very much and I hate talking about feelings, so I’m definitely a man in disguise. I don’t even really like seeing people kiss in movies. This movie is about as romantic as I can handle.”
The movie she was referring to, of course, is “Love Ranch,” the new feature in which she stars with “Goodfellas” icon Joe Pesci. Based on a real-life story, the pair plays Grace and Charlie Bontempo (surname translation: “goodtime”), the owners of Nevada’s first legal brothel.
While the film might be pushing the red zone on Mirren’s personal romantic meter, the role didn’t come out of the blue, as “Love Ranch” was directed by her husband, Taylor Hackford, who admits that the project was designed as an opportunity to work with Mirren again. The last time they worked together was 25 years ago, in “White Nights.”
As for Mirren’s aversion to that very American pastime of “talking about feelings,” that would seem as much a British characteristic as a merely masculine one.