Helen Mirren, the Oscar-winning actress, has expressed her dislike for being described as ‘sexy’ or ‘beautiful’, preferring to be seen as ‘cool’.

The 74-year-old says she has always been uncomfortable with the tag of ‘sexy’ and found intimate romantic scenes awkward and embarrassing.

She said, ‘I spent most of my career feeling incredibly embarrassed and awkward about every intimate romantic scene I had to do.

“I would push myself to do them because acting is about challenging yourself, liberating yourself and all I ever wanted was to be a good actor.

“But sexy? No. Beautiful? No.

“And then there’s the element of being objectified and patronised thrown in. All it’s ever made me feel is awkward.’

Mirren, who stars in the new movie The Good Liar, which sees her portraying a well-to-do widow who wreaks revenge on a villainous fraudster, believes that there is a new generation of women who are truly liberated, citing the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, and admiring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, creator of Fleabag, whom she described as a brilliant writer and actress who tells it like it is to be a woman.

Mirren first came to public attention at 20 when she starred in Antony and Cleopatra at The Old Vic.

Her sensual, bohemian approach set her apart from her peers and she quickly gained the reputation of a taboo-busting, edgy, free-spirited actress.

She made art house films in Europe and regularly appeared on the West End stage, with a CV that includes classic British films such as O Lucky Man!, The Long Good Friday and The Madness of King George, and cult favourites such as The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, and the controversial Caligula, which involved her being filmed in various states of undress.

Mirren was first introduced on British television in 1975 as ‘the sex queen of the RSC’ and was asked by the host, Michael Parkinson, if her ‘equipment’ undermined her credibility as an actress.

She hit back, saying: ‘Serious actresses can’t have big bosoms, is that what you mean?’ and in later interviews went on to describe Parkinson as ‘creepy’ and ‘sexist’.

Although Mirren lived like a hippy in her 20s and 30s, making art house films in Europe and talking about drinking and taking drugs, she also talked about the difficulties of being a woman in the film industry.

‘I grew up in the Sixties,’ she said, ‘It was all supposed to be about sexual liberation, but that was all a complete con.

“The men still called the shots. In the movies made back then, women were always the girlfriend, the partner, the evil seductress; there were no great movie roles for women.

“I fought tooth and nail on The Long Good Friday to bring my character Victoria [the girlfriend of gangster Harold Shand, played by Bob Hoskins] into the story and give her an identity beyond being the girlfriend.’

Mirren also talked about her experiences of sexual harassment as a schoolgirl and as a young woman.

She was flashed at every week when she was at school, and in her 20s, she experienced date rape.

She said: ‘Free love. Sexual liberation. When birth control came along and the pill was available to women, what it also did was take away your right to say no.

“There was a lot more pressure to say yes when you didn’t want to say yes.’

Looking back on her career, Mirren said that she did a lot of nude scenes, but she didn’t enjoy them.

‘Liberation did involve a lot of exploitation,’ she admitted.

Despite her many accomplishments and her status as a cultural icon, Mirren has faced many challenges and obstacles throughout her life and career.

However, she remains optimistic about the future, particularly for women in the entertainment industry.

“I think we’re in a much better place than we were before,” she says.

“There’s still a long way to go, but we’re moving in the right direction.

“Women are finally starting to have a say in the stories that are being told and the roles that are being written for them.

“We’re finally starting to see ourselves on screen in a way that feels authentic and empowering.”

As for her own future, Mirren has no plans to slow down.

She continues to act in films and on stage, and is constantly pushing herself to take on new and challenging roles.

She’s also involved in several charitable causes, including the Women’s Aid Federation of England, which works to combat domestic violence against women.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have had the career that I’ve had,” she says.

“But I also feel like there’s so much more that I want to do. I want to keep pushing boundaries and challenging myself.

“And I want to use my platform to make a difference in the world, however small that may be. I think that’s what it’s all about, really.

“Using whatever power you have to make a positive impact on the world around you.”