Dame Helen Mirren opens up on keeping "dark dragons" at bay through gardening
Dame Helen Mirren has opened up about her mental health and the methods she uses to keep the "dark dragons" at bay.
The Oscar winner revealed that gardening helps her switch off and keep her calm.
"I am not very good at turning off but gardening is a wonderful thing to do because it is absorbent, meditative and it is a learning process and it is physical," she told The Mirror.
"It is a really good way of keeping those dark dragons away. I do have them. I do, yes."
Dame Helen previously touched on her mental health last year in the My Self Worth podcast, made in collaboration with The Prince's Trust.
She said: "These negative thoughts are always lurking there under the surface. Everybody feels this way, you are not the only one.
"What always comes up in my head is that 'I'm boring, I'm stupid, I'm not exciting enough.'"
To deal with these negative thoughts, she added: "Sometimes I lock myself in the loo to give myself a talking to like, 'You can do it, Helen, don't worry.'"
Related: Fast & Furious 9 and 10 – cast, plot, trailer, release date and everything you need to know
Dame Helen might be worried she's not "exciting enough", but for film fans, she certainly has an eclectic filmography, from the likes of The Queen, which she won an Oscar for her performance, to her role as Magdalene Shaw in the Fast and the Furious franchise.
She's set to reprise her role in Fast & Furious 9 when it drops later this year alongside Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges and Tyrese Gibson.
Fast & Furious 9 will be released in cinemas on May 22.
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