Helen Mirren reveals she begged Vin Diesel to join the Fast and Furious franchise and what appealed to her about the action movies. The Oscar winner stars in the series as Magdalene "Queenie" Shaw, the mother of Deckard, Hattie and Owen Shaw who holds a fearsome reputation as a crime boss in London. Mirren first appeared in the franchise with The Fate of the Furious in which she meets with Diesel's Dom Toretto to work out a deal to help him save his son from Cypher in exchange for her sons' freedom.
Mirren's Queenie would return in the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw in which she has been locked up in prison at some point between the events of the previous film and expresses her desire to see Jason Statham's titular character reunite with his government agency sister Hattie. The movie would notably end with the two visiting her in prison and potentially breaking her out, a point seemingly confirmed in F9: The Fast Saga in which she is on the outside and returning to her life of crime. Dom visits Queenie in the hopes of learning information on his estranged brother and new enemy, John Cena's Jakob, before being delivered directly to him.
Mirren recently caught up with The Hollywood Reporter for a career-spanning interview covering her range of acclaimed performances in her 50-plus years of working. When asked about her involvement in the Fast and Furious franchise, Mirren revealed she begged Vin Diesel to let her join the series and her excitement for having been a part of it thus far. See what Mirren shared below:
"I didn’t ask, I begged! I think I was at some function, and he was there, and I got introduced to him. And I was shameless: 'Oh God, I’d just love to be in one of your movies! Please let me be in it.' And then Vin, with that beautiful, deep voice of his, said: 'I’ll see what I can do.' And he did it for me. He found this great little role for me, which was perfect. I’d just never done anything like that before — one of those big, big movies. And, in my vanity, I just loved driving and really wanted to do my own driving in a fast car."
Much like the world of superhero films, the Fast and Furious franchise has become a popular draw for actors looking to dive into the big-budget blockbuster game. As the series underwent its genre evolution with Fast Five, the cast of the films gradually grew with the likes of Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, fellow Oscar winner Charlize Theron, Oscar nominee Vanessa Kirby and Golden Globe winner Idris Elba. Most recently, the Fast and Furious franchise has attracted Aquaman star Jason Momoa for the villain role in the upcoming Fast & Furious 10 and John Cena as the central antagonist for F9.
Mirren's reveal that she begged Vin Diesel to join the Fast and Furious franchise marks a fun backstory to her involvement in the series and proves her love for starring in action films. With development still underway on a Hobbs & Shaw sequel, a female-led spinoff, a Charlize Theron-starring spinoff and the final two mainline movies, the door is wide open for Mirren to get back behind the wheel for another ride. In the meantime, audiences can revisit her latest turn as Queenie with F9: The Fast Saga now on digital platforms and 4K Ultra-HD, Blu-ray and DVD.
Source: THR
