Helen Mirren: "Queen Elizabeth invited me for tea but didn't say anything about The Queen."

Helen Mirren sits on the black sofa in the mayor's office in Guagnano, a village in southern Italy, surrounded by vigorous Negroamaro vineyards. She is dressed entirely in white, the same color as her shoulder-length hair. She has just told thousands of people who have come to see her about her love for Salento , the land where she has chosen to live for 17 years with her husband Taylor Hackford , director of An Officer and a Gentleman and The Devil's Advocate , also an Oscar winner. Later, she will dance on the balcony of the town hall like a girl whose eyes shine with happiness.

You're turning 80. What effect does it have on you?

Life is a constant and ongoing journey, in which we enter new stages. It's a natural process. Honestly, I've never given much thought to birthdays, not even those that end in zero.

So you're not afraid of getting older?

The number 80 gives me a few shivers, but we should be grateful for reaching this age. It's simple: you either die young or you grow old, you have to accept it.

You attended the Wimbledon final. Who did you cheer for?

Obviously, for Jannik [Sinner]! In front of us were two Italian boys with the tricolor flag. My husband and I couldn't stand hearing so much cheering for Carlitos [Alcaraz] and we shouted Sinner's name at the top of our lungs. It was wonderful.

You were born and raised in East London. What was that like as a young adult?

My father played the viola before the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he drove ambulances. Afterward, playing became impossible, so he started working as a taxi driver. That job required passing the Knowledge exam, meaning knowing virtually every street in the city by heart. He, coming from an aristocratic Russian family, had Google Maps on his brain.

Were they also tough years for young Helen?

We didn't have money to go to the movies or the theater, and we didn't have a television at home. When I was 15, my mother took me to see an amateur production of Hamlet , and I came away completely transformed. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be an actress and recite only Shakespeare's texts. In fact, my first role was Cleopatra. Being able to bring Shakespeare's stories to life on stage became my reason for living.

Since then, she's won an Oscar for her performance in "The Queen," a Golden Globe, the Volpi Cup at Venice, and several BAFTAs. Are you satisfied, or do you still have any acting dreams left to fulfill?

An actress is never satisfied; she's always looking for new challenges. Moving from theater to film and then to television productions means testing myself with different working methods; it demands a different energy, and this alternation stimulates me. But for a few years now, I've felt the need to return to my old love, the theater, and therefore to Shakespeare.

"I'm normal, just like everyone else, a fellow countrywoman. I live the profound simplicity of reality. Here, I'm an Italian woman."

Did the real Queen Elizabeth ever privately express her opinion of your performance in 'The Queen'?

I received an invitation to tea at her estate in Ascot. I thought it would be one of those classic events with 300 guests. Instead, when I arrived, there were only five of us: the Queen, me, Prince Philip, and two other members of the Royal Family. The real Elizabeth didn't say anything about The Queen , but I think being invited to share such an intimate moment with her was worth a compliment.

Did the Queen ever see the tattoo under her thumb?

They're two crossed Vs, meaning equal and opposite . We're human beings, and therefore contradictory. To me, it means that you have to consider that others may be different from you, but that doesn't mean they don't share your values. It's my philosophy of life.

He has lived in Italy, in the far southeast of the country, for 17 years.

I was generally seduced by Italian culture. I'm not just talking about the churches, the museums, Dante and Fellini, whom I of course love. What I love is everyday, ordinary life. Being a foreigner allows me to take a step back, to look at the negatives with a certain detachment and greater complacency. My Italian improves every day I spend here, although I still don't speak it very well. I filmed the movie Caligula in Rome, where I spent three months alone, surrounded by Romans. I made a point of understanding everything they said at dinners and parties.

And in the end he understood it?

Yes. Italians love to talk about clothes and food!

She's seen at the butcher's shop buying mortadella, promoting campaigns to save coastal towers, visiting hospitals to see women affected by cancer...

I'm part of the community of Tiggiano, the beautiful village in Lower Salento where I live. I ride my bike, I sit in the square with a cappuccino at midday, I buy what I need at the supermarket... I'm normal, just like everyone else, a countrywoman. This is how the profound simplicity of reality is experienced. Here, I am an Italian woman.

"I loved Liam Neeson for four years"

But is there anything you don't like about Italians?

Well, we're chatterboxes, we like to gossip a lot. But how much human generosity! I lived in Provence for 15 years, and I learned French well. But there's no comparison with the kindness of the people here. They helped us a lot when we started renovating the farmhouse. And they still do.

She defines herself as a peasant.

Taylor and I grow 800 pomegranate trees and produce organic juice by hand-squeezing the fruit. I also tend to the vegetable garden, picking tomatoes and other vegetables. I love my garden. The secret to our marriage, which has lasted almost 30 years, is doing crafts together.

And they're also fighting to save the olive trees that have been attacked by Xylella for 10 years.

With the nonprofit organization Save the Olives , we've saved 500 century-old olive trees through grafting in eight years. We've created a greenhouse where we cultivate new species of olive trees resistant to the bacteria, alongside scientists and agronomists. It's terrible to me that there are children in Salentino who haven't seen our green heritage when it was healthy.

Let's get back to love. Before Taylor, what was the most important?

I loved Liam Neeson for four years. With Taylor, whom I met on the set of Midnight Sun and for whom I also acted in Love Ranch , we've become a team strengthened by our immense love for Italy and our agricultural project, for getting our hands dirty with the land.

You were unfaithful... with comedian Checco Zalone.

I saw his films on a plane. I didn't quite understand the words, but I was captivated by his way of moving and gesturing. I wanted to meet him; we became friends. That's why I agreed without hesitation to do the video for La Vacinada , filming at my farmhouse . He was very professional, and I insisted on playing the peasant girl I am.

Do you still swim under the Corsano coastal tower when there is a full moon?

When I first arrived here and saw the moon dip into the sea at Tricase Porto, I fell madly in love. Summer nights in Salento are imbued with a peaceful magic. I like to dive off the rocks; I'm not a beach person.

Do you have any regrets?

My mother didn't see all I'd accomplished. A Londoner, she left school at 15 to work in a factory. I would have been happy with my dramatic roles and living in my Italian farmhouse . I would also have liked to meet Anna Magnani, my legend.