Helen Mirren eager to crack case in ‘Thursday Murder Club’

You can’t help but notice she’s aging gracefully. Just keep it to yourself.

“I hate that word gracefully, like you have to be elegant and accepting. I’m not. I’m aging gratefully. I’m aging with fun. I’m aging with commitment,” Helen Mirren says.

Oh, and she’s aging with an eye on defying expectations.

Mirren has demolished the idea that there are no great roles beyond age 50. Over the past year, she has starred in the TV series “1923” and “MobLand” and filmed movies “Switzerland” and “Goodbye June.” She also has a picture called “The Thursday Murder Club” about to debut on Netflix.

Incidentally, Mirren is 80, not that she’s counting. “I still love to shake it up,” she says during a Zoom interview. “Give me a great project with wonderful words on the page and it’s like the sparkling fairy on top of the Christmas tree.”

“The Thursday Murder Club,” premiering Aug. 28, is directed by Chris Columbus and based on the bestselling book by Richard Osman. The cast is top notch: Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie, Ben Kingsley. They portray seniors in a retirement home who have no time for bridge or bingo. To keep their minds active, they solve cold case murders.

They eventually find a whodunit case that’s far too close to home.

“It’s witty. It’s fun. It’s a show that defies the idea that there is an age limit on anything,” Mirren says.

Off screen, the London native can be found gardening and spending mindful time at her L.A. home with her husband, director Taylor Hackford. She shares her good life tips:

Seek out joy

“I love to do projects for the pure fun of it,” Mirren says. “Life is lovely when everything just falls into place and you’re smiling.

“It was joyful to be around my friends with a great director and wonderful script. We had a blast,” she adds of working with Brosnan and the rest of the “Thursday Murder Club” cast. “I’m also a big fan of murder mysteries. True crime fascinates me, and I always love a really well-written thriller.”

Choose adventure

Working on the Taylor Sheridan series “1923,” set in early 20th century Montana, brought Mirren a different sort of thrill. “Working with Harrison Ford was a huge pull, and so was the sense of adventure and excitement about working in Montana,” she says. “The truth is, I had never been to Montana before doing the series. The wilderness and magnificence of that landscape took my breath away. I caught a true glimpse of what it meant to be alive. You grasp the beauty and cruelty of nature looking out at the land. Montana was so massive and profound. I feel as if I only had an inkling of it.”

Softer side

Mirren usually plays fierce women, but says her real demeanor might surprise people. “I can be a total wimp,” she insists. “I’m not a confrontational person at all. Yes, I can be argumentative sometimes, and more so when I was younger. I do like to defend a position if I think it’s correct.”

‘Just go with it’

“I like to make decisions based on instinct. I’ll just go with it when I feel it,” Mirren says. “Of course, sometimes I’m wrong, but so be it. We all make occasional wrong decisions in life. That’s just the way life is. You hope for more rights than wrongs over the years.”

Take a swing

“What keeps things interesting at this age is trying to do something different,” she says. “I’m the actress who went from ‘Barbie’ to ‘1923.’ Constantly mix it up in life and you will never get bored.”

Picture perfect

What’s it like making movies for a living and then going home to a director? Do they talk work? “I will say, ‘How did it go, darling? Did you get your day?’ ” she says. “I always pray for the weather to be right for his shoots. He will ask me, ‘Was it OK today for you?’ We share all the joys and the difficulties. It’s a wonderful, loving partnership.”

Up for downtime

Mirren is looking at filming the second season of “MobLand,” among her many projects. Yet she finds time to relax. “I love not to work at times,” she shares. “I don’t feel guilty about it. I know I’ve earned a little downtime. I enjoy that time, but I’m always looking for the next thing that will interest me on screen or stage.”

Bring the swagger

Mirren doesn’t carry around a makeup bag. She has what she calls “a swagger bag.” “It gives me swag to dress up, have lovely makeup on and feel good,” she says. Her best tip: “It’s confidence that makes you beautiful. Don’t be too polite or apologetic in life.”

Don’t expect

Mirren is a planner, but she likes when life takes her on surprise twists. “When I was 20, I didn’t know exactly where my life was going,” she says. “Same with my 30s and 40s. No idea. The whole thing is an adventure. I don’t plan or expect. Life will come and hit me that way it has always done.”