Helen Mirren paid tribute to her late colleague and co-star Alan Rickman at the red carpet premiere of new thriller Eye In the Sky last night, saying the movie represents an “incredibly sad” goodbye.
At the European premiere outside the Curzon Mayfair on Monday night (April 11th), where she dazzled onlookers with a black lace ensemble, she spoke to reporters about what it was like to realise that the war thriller would be Rickman’s final work, after his death in January from pancreatic cancer at the age of 69.
Helen Mirren at the ‘Eye In the Sky’ premiere in London
“Of course it’s incredibly sad to have to say goodbye to Alan,” the 70 year old star opened up, “not least because he was far too young and had such great work left in him, as you see from his performance in this film, which is fantastic.”
“But the great thing is, it’s very much Alan on screen. It’s not him playing one of his amazing characters, it’s Alan as we all knew him and remembered him. So that’s a lovely way to say goodbye.”
More: Helen Mirren on never experiencing parenthood
Eye In the Sky concerns the modern military phenomenon of drone warfare, and sees Mirren’s intelligence officer character alongside Rickman’s portrayal of a lieutenant-general.
Earlier that same day, she had appeared on ITV chat show ‘This Morning’ to promote the movie and also remembered Rickman in emotional terms. The pair had been friends for decades, starring in a number of film, television and stage productions together.
“We did not want to lose Alan. He had so much great work left for us all to enjoy, which now we will never see,” she told hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield. “For this to be his last movie, the only pleasure I take in that is that on the screen it’s Alan. It’s not Alan in one of his brilliant character roles where he could disappear into the role.”
More: Alan Rickman’s death ended plans for ‘Galaxy Quest 2’
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