Helen Mirren on Golda Meir: I’m not explaining her or rationalising her

Helen Mirren (Jeff Moore/PA)

Helen Mirren has said she thinks she “can see” why some people are uncomfortable with non-Jewish actors playing Jewish historical figures and said that there is “something offensive” about “assuming a certain physiognomy” to play a particular race.

Mirren, 78, plays the former prime minister of Israel, Golda Meir, in upcoming biopic Golda and was asked if she understood the recent backlash Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper faced over wearing a prosthetic nose to portray the American composer Leonard Bernstein in film Maestro.