Actor Helen Mirren declined a question about her casting as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir during a press conference at the Berlinale.
Mirren is starring in the Guy Nattiv film Golda that premiered today at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival. Per Variety, the Academy Award-winner refused to comment on the harsh criticism she has received as a non-Jewish person for playing the most iconic female political figure in Israeli history.
The controversy started last January when comic Maureen Lipman ridiculed Mirren playing the part, comparing it to Ben Kingsley in the role of Nelson Mandela. Lipman argued that it would have been more appropriate for a Jewish actor to play Meir, suggesting Barbara Streisand or Bette Midler would have been more appropriate.
Mirren may have found the question redundant as she addressed Lipman’s comments in February 2022. She explained that she had the same concerns before accepting the role and took them up them with Nattiv, who was adamant that she play the part. As Mirren The Daily Mail:
“It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role. I said, ‘Look, Guy. I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand, but he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.”
Mirren questioned the rationale of excluding actors from roles because of their ethnicity.
“You know, if someone who’s not Jewish can’t play Jewish, does someone who’s Jewish play someone who’s not Jewish?”
The director praised Mirren’s unparalleled understanding of Meir. He also pointed out that she was the only non-Israeli actor in the film.
While Mirren passed on the question at the press conference, her co-star Lior Ashkenazi came to her defense, using Jesus Christ as an example and asking who should play the part. Mirren playfully answered, “It won’t be me!”