The next time I have to do something new that makes me uncomfortable, I'm just going to repeat this in my mind over and over: Even Helen Mirren gets nervous about new things. You'd think after the stellar career that Helen Mirren has had, she'd pretty much be ready to do anything without a second thought. She says that isn't quite true. She's about to show up on the set of Fast 8 and she's apparently feeling a little intimidated about getting to a place where everybody else knows each other, and she's the newbie.
Helen Mirren had previously expressed interest in getting involved in the Fast & Furious franchise, so when we heard that she'd landed a role in Fast 8, we assumed she'd be excited. Quite the contrary. She tells Entertainment Weekly that she's nervous about going to film her part. The fear apparently comes from the fact that, as the eighth film in the franchise, many of the cast and crew have been working together for years, and one would assume, they've become fairly tight knit. Mirren, on the other hand, is the new kid.
I'm very nervous because when you're going on to a set with people who have been doing this for [so long], basically, they all know each other, they've worked together, they know what they're doing. I'll be, you know, the newcomer, the newbie. I've only got one day, and I'll probably fuck it up, oh God. I think they'll be nice to me. I hope they'll be nice to me.
We're fairly certain that Helen Mirren has little to worry about in regards to them being nice to her. First off, she's Helen Fucking Mirren. Anybody who's not nice to Helen Mirren needs to have their head examined. Besides, as far as we can tell, The Rock is one of the nicest people walking the earth. If nothing else, we're confident he'll be friendly, and if anybody else isn't nice, he can drop their ass through the catering table. He's had practice.
Of course, the other thing that we translate from Helen Mirren's comments is that she's only got a single day on the set of Fast 8. That's what she means, right? We have to say that makes us slightly disappointed. While we knew that Charlize Theron, another newbie, was the big bad of the movie, and so Mirren wasn't getting her initial wish of playing the villain, we still expected it would be a solid part. Now, it doesn't feel like much more than a cameo. Although, we're sure she'll pull off her cameo with style. And maybe it sets up a bigger role for future movies, like Jason Statham, initially.
The Fast 8 set might be like wandering into a high school where all the cool kids already hang out together, but we figure Helen Mirren will still be able to turn a few heads. We'll find out what she can do when Fast 8 hits theaters next year.
