Helen Mirren is ‘Death’ in ‘Collateral Beauty’

Helen Mirren is just one of the many stars who are featured in the upcoming drama Collateral Beauty. This time, she is taking on a unique role, playing “Death.”

Check out the official synopsis for the film from Warner Bros.:

When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy, he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it’s not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

In an interview with BackstageOL’s Dave Morales, Mirren revealed how she felt about being asked to play “Death.”

“Outraged! Absolutely outraged,” Mirren joked. “Who do they think they are, asking me to play death! Me? I should be ‘love’ or ‘optimism’…’energy’ or whatever. ‘Death’? No, that’s not me,” she continued to jest.

“But I’ve really wanted to do this movie,” she added seriously. “I thought the subject matter was just so, so powerful, and interesting, and true. From my experience of life, there is collateral beauty in the darkest of moments…I loved the thought of obviously working with Will [Smith]. David Frankel’s an absolutely fantastic director. So you know, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll play ‘Death’…That was the start of a really cool journey, actually, to thinking about, really, really thinking about what position death has in our lives.”

Coallteral Beauty also stars Will Smith, Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley, Edward Norton, Michael Peña, and Naomie Harris. It arrives in theaters December 16.