HELEN MIRREN

By Marcus Barnes

What happened to the glamour? Helen Mirren dresses her age in a sensible ensemble at the premiere of The Debt in Berlin

Last updated at 11:33 AM on 19th September 2011

Helen Mirren has become something of a mature sex symbol thanks to her penchant for glamorous, and often daring, red carpet outfits.

However, at a premiere in Berlin, she dressed far more sensibly than normal - in an ensemble more suited to a lady of her age.

The 66-year-old actress was surprisingly dressed down at the screening of new film The Debt (Eine offene Rechnung) in the German capital.

Scroll down for trailer

Growing old gracefully: Helen Mirren dresses a little more sensibly than normal as she attends a screening of The Debt (Eine offene Rechnung) in Berlin

Looking good at 66: The actress' outfit was a lot more subtle than normal but still looked great

Helen, who stars in the new film as former Mossad agent Rachel Singer, wore a knee-length Fendi dress in shades of blue with the famous double F logo repeated all over it.

She matched the dress with a sensible blue cardigan and glittering gold shoes.

Despite the toned down look Helen still looked great, happily posing and smiling for waiting fans and photographers on the red carpet.

Glamour queen: Helen at the premiere of her film Arthur in April this year and at the Oscars in February

The Debt centres on a ex-Mossad agent on the hunt for a Nazi war criminal. It opened in the U.S. earlier this month to almost £620,000.

Miss Mirren revealed that the drama-thriller offered a rare opportunity for an actress of her age.

She told On The Red Carpet: 'I think the fact that it was a proactive role for a woman my age. Really proactive roles are comparatively rare for me.'

Proactive role: The actress appears in new thriller The Debt in which she plays an ex-Mossad agent

The actress went on to admit that she thinks she has been very fortunate in her career during recent years.

She said: 'I've been very lucky, I got to do Red and the Tolstoy film and this and all of those roles have been very proactive, but all very different from each other. That was a good couple of years for me.'

Dame Helen appeared on U.S. TV show The View recently where she discussed winning Body Of The Year award from LA Fitness.

Fortunate: Helen says she's had a good couple of years thanks to the film roles she has picked up

The panel of female hosts, which includes Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd, showed a huge image of the Prime Suspect star in her sexy red bikini that was taken on an Italian holiday in 2008.

Dame Mirren blushed and told them: 'It’s kind of embarrassing, really, because it’s not true. I just suck it in occasionally, like I am there.'

Mirren took the title ahead of Jennifer Lopez, which she described as the hardest part of accepting the award presented by LA Fitness.

Embarrassed: The 66-year-old blushed when a picture of her in a red bikini on holiday in Rome in 2008 was shown on The View in the U.S.

She said: “My husband (Taylor Hackford) is working with Jennifer Lopez at the moment. So I’ve got to go and confront her and say, "J-Lo, you are just so, so much more beautiful than I am. I bow down to you."'

Mirren also beat Elle MacPherson and Kelly Brook to win the title.

She said: 'It’s ridiculous: J-Lo is a thousand times, a thousand million times more of a beautiful body than I am, head-to-toe. Maybe I got sympathy votes. But it was a beautiful thing that these fitness people did, I have to say. I think it was recognition of the fact that you don’t have to be perfect.”

Gym chain LA Fitness said of the award last month: 'Helen Mirren's victory in our Best Body poll illustrates how, when it comes to body maintenance and well-being, age really is nothing but a number.

'It's great to see the public celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes, and proving that you really can look fabulous over 40 and 50.'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2039046/Helen-Mirren-dresses-age-sensible-cardi-dress-premiere-The-Debt-Berlin.html#ixzz1YSVE67Ar