Dame Helen Mirren warns there is still a "desire to repress women"

She told WWD: "My great fear is that with the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and what's happening in America in general, you realise that lurking in the back is always this need, this desire to repress women.

"You think of the way women were treated under Stalin, under Hitler. It was 'get back there, have babies, and shut up. Be pretty, be sexy, have babies, and then shut up about everything else'.

"I keep thinking it can't take over, because women have come so far."

The Hollywood veteran isn't fazed by aging, but she wishes she would "live longer" to experience the full impact of change she waited decades for.

She explained: "The one reason I do wish I was younger is I would like to live longer to see, because I've waited 50 years for the changes to happen that I thought should happen when I was 16 or 17 years old."

Helen also wants to continue to see change in the film industry, despite acknowledging "a desire to see youth and beauty".

She said: "There will always be a desire to see youth and beauty on the screen. I mean, I feel the same, quite honestly.

"But I think it's the broadening of the stories that we tell. Casting then follows.

"People are living longer, and as people live longer, they have stories to tell. Between 50 and 100 years old, there are obviously roles for men and women."

She insisted progress has been made in recent years, with more varied stories being told beyond "a man's eyes".

She added: "For all of my life, up to like 20 years ago, if I went to the movies, I only ever saw a vision of the world and culture and human relationships and stories and romance and adventure that was seen through a man's eyes.

"Now we're seeing women's view of the world about us. I think it's really surprising a lot of people.

"I think they thought women would just make movies about romance and dogs or something. They are doing amazing, challenging, difficult, shocking stuff. It's great."