‘Never too late’: Helen Mirren urges everyone to embrace ageing and start moving

Dame Helen Mirren is redefining what it means to age with confidence and purpose, proving that a career—and a life—can flourish well into our golden years.

Whether it’s her recent roles in Yellowstone: 1923, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, or her surprise appearance in Kendrick Lamar’s Count Me Out music video, Mirren shows no signs of slowing down.

Despite her busy schedule, the 79 year old star has added another feather in her cap as an ageing activist and she wants us to know old age is nothing to fear if you make small steps and start exercising now.

The Prime Suspect star said this “doesn’t have to include joining a gym” but could include short walks or yoga, just as long as people make “little changes now to help them later in life.”

Her call was backed by charity Age UK who said there is a “major concern” about people’s physical health and wellbeing as they age, and is calling on people aged 50 to 65 to make exercise a “key part” of their routine as part of its latest campaign.

It comes as England’s chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty said keeping fit in midlife is one of the “main preventive strategies” for staying healthy in older age.

As a newly-appointed ambassador for Age UK, Mirren said ageing is “something we must all try to embrace rather than fear.”

“It’s no secret that for many, getting older will come with its complications – specifically there will likely be aches and pains along the way, getting out and about and living as independently as we’re used to in our younger years may not be as easy to do,” she said.

“This is why I’m supporting Age UK’s Act Now, Age Better campaign, they’re encouraging everyone in their 50s to make little changes now to help them later on in life.

“It doesn’t have to be joining a gym; it can just be small changes like taking a short walk or yoga, which I still enjoy.

“It’s never too late to start doing something, so why not give something a go while you’re younger?”

Mirren has never been one to shy away from speaking her mind on matters that are important to her.

Most recently Mirren called out the James Bond franchise as “born out of profound sexism” and said she’s never liked the way women were represented in the film series.

While speaking to The Standard, Mirren criticised the movies for underplaying the role of women in the Secret Service and was opposed to the idea of a woman taking over the role.

“Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been. And very brave,” she said.

“If you hear about what women did in the French Resistance, they’re amazingly, unbelievably courageous. So I would tell real stories about extraordinary women who’ve worked in that world.”

Despite her criticisms, the Prime Suspect star reassured fans she was still a fan of former Bond actors, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig and their work.

– with PA.