According to an article on Deadline the actress said, "Lifetime Achievement, that sounds so grand. I supposed I'm still alive so by that measure, I'm eligible...But honestly, any achievement that I've succeeded in is the result of my mantra, 'Be on time and don't be an ass.'" She comically punctuated the mantra with a face that could only mean oo-I've-just-said-the-word-ass-on-television.

Mirren's speech ran like an inspiring stand-up comedy set in which she cracked jokes about herself, "thinking inside the box," when she decided to talk about actors in her acceptance speech, and profoundly discussing the constant juxtaposition between insecurity and ego that she attested that all actors are constantly faced with. She went on to say:

"You know, I get really p'ed off when I hear about actors being maligned as a group. It's so easy, isn't it? That lazy and false assumption that of vanity when, in my experience, which by now is considerable, the opposite of it is true. We love and admire each other's work. Together we laugh, we weep, we worry, we change clothes, we throw up, and we suffer diarrhea. Don't you? I mean, I do."

Congratulations Helen Mirren on this incredible honor!

Tags
Helen mirren, SAG Awards