I still suffer terribly from stage fright. I get sick with fear. Not every night, but at the beginning and on occasion - not necessarily when I'm expecting it. You just have to cope with it - take it on the chin and work through it, trying to use the adrenalin to perform.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the struggle of dealing with fear, particularly stage fright, and emphasizes the importance of coping with and channeling that fear into performance.
In this quote, Helen Mirren candidly shares her experiences with stage fright, illustrating that even seasoned performers can encounter fear and anxiety before facing an audience. She acknowledges that this fear can be unpredictable but emphasizes the necessity of confronting it head-on and utilizing the adrenaline it produces to enhance their performance, turning a potentially negative experience into a source of energy and motivation.
In practice
This quote can be used in a motivational speech to encourage artists to embrace their fears.
There is that awful moment when you realize that you're falling in love. That should be the most joyful moment, and actually it's not. It's always a moment that's full of fear because you know, as night follows day, the joy is going to rapidly be followed by some pain or other. All the angst of a relationship.
People often ask me whether I prefer theater or film, and the answer is that I prefer the one I'm not doing: The grass is always greener.
I've been working every year since I started acting, and I got many awards before I won the Oscar for 'The Queen.'
I don't like the word 'strong,' because a strong character is never an interesting character. A character is made interesting by their vulnerabilities and their weaknesses.
I believe kids shouldn't be taught Shakespeare. They should experience it first by seeing a great production.
I am in a fabulously lucky position in that I get to wear beautiful, beautiful gowns for functions, which I can then give back. That way, they're not sitting in my wardrobe with me looking at them and feeling guilty. I love that, and I think when people have a fabulous function to go to, I'd recommend renting.
For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement.
I've put up with more humiliation than I care to remember.
Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valor, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar.
Moral courage is more a rare commodity than bravery in a battle or great intelligence.
I was never afraid of failure after that because, I think, coming that close to death you get kissed. With the years, the actual experience of course fades, but the flavor of it doesn't. I just had a real sense of what choice do I have but to live fully?
Out of doubt, out of dark to the day's rising I came singing into the sun, sword unsheathing. To hope's end I rode and to heart's breaking: Now for wrath, now for ruin and a red nightfall!
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