“A leading Israeli historian said Helen is 'more Golda than Golda'. I find it very worrying that there is a creeping authoritarianism in entertainment saying you cannot do this or that."
Dame Helen, 78, initially said she understood the criticism of her casting in the biopic, saying earlier this month: “[Meir] is a very important person in Israeli history. I said [to the director], ‘Look, I’m not Jewish, and if you want to think about that, and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand.’
“But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.”
Helen Mirren attending the UK premiere of Golda (Photo: Getty)
However, in an interview with Radio Times on Monday, Dame Mirren revealed that she thinks she has Jewish ancestry and is considering taking a DNA test to check.
Dame Helen explained: “The realities of the Holocaust were being revealed as I was gaining consciousness of the world.
“I do think that the profound, earth-shattering trauma of the Holocaust does enter the DNA.
“Maybe it's hocus pocus, but I think only a Jewish person really carries that profoundly with them.
“The other issue is that within the Jewish race there are other races – Ashkenazi and Sephardic – who are racially very different. It's all a sort of swirling fog at the moment that I can't quite unpick.”
Asked whether she agreed with Martin’s view of 'creeping authoritarianism' in the entertainment industry, Helen added: “I think, in a way, that it's more frightening for a writer to be told they are not allowed to write about subjects with which they don't have an immediate DNA connection.
“I imagine it must be very alarming. And ridiculous.”
Writer Nicholas Martin and Dame Helen Mirren attends the 'Golda' Special Screening at Picturehouse Central (Photo: Getty)
Last week, the actress defended Bradley Cooper wearing a prosthetic nose whilst portraying Leonard Bernstein in the biopic Maestro.
A trailer for the upcoming Netflix biopic about the late composer sparked a “Jewface” row across the Jewish community after shots showed Cooper donning the nose.
Meanwhile, the new Golda biopic focuses on the responsibilities and decisions that Meir, also known as the Iron Lady of Israel, had to make during the Yom Kippur War, an armed conflict fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states that was launched in 1973.
The film explores the decisions that the politician made during the height of the war, which went on to see her country suffer huge losses in a battle with multiple Arab States.
