Helen Mirren Shares Exercise Tips

At 69, the actress still stuns on the red carpet and the beach.

ByABC News
April 2, 2015, 12:32 PM
Helen Mirren attends the "Woman In Gold" New York premiere at The Museum of Modern Art, March 30, 2015, in New York.
Helen Mirren attends the "Woman In Gold" New York premiere at The Museum of Modern Art, March 30, 2015, in New York.
Andrew Toth/Getty Images

— -- Though Helen Mirren swears she has retired her bikini forever, the 69-year-old Oscar winner still appears stunning on the red carpet.

Her secret to being red-carpet and swimsuit ready: start easy and work your way up.

"Buy yourself a fabulous workout outfit," the actress told People recently. "Put it on and do four sit ups and take it off and get in the shower."

More seriously, she added, "My thing with exercise is start really easy, just so you only do three sit ups, you know? Then do four next week and the next week do five. Start really easy."

As for the gym, Mirren said, "I don't go to the gym. I'm trying to go."

These days, the actress may be too busy to work out. Her new movie, "Woman in Gold" with Ryan Reynolds in theaters, and she is in a Broadway show, "The Audience, in which she plays Queen Elizabeth II.

But there's one role Mirren is still pining for. The actress told Yahoo! Movies recently that her great ambition is to be in a "Fast and Furious" movie.

"I so want to be a mad driver in a Fast and Furious movie," she said. "My claim to fame is I always do my own driving -- I was on 'Top Gear,' and I did [my lap] in a very good time. I keep putting it out there, and they never ask me. I’ll be in 'Fast and Furious 8.'"

Mirren also complimented the series' star, Vin Diesel.

"I love Vin Diesel," she told Yahoo! "He’s a great guy, smart -- I love him. It’s partly because of him I’d like to be in one, but also the driving."

Turns out Diesel would love to work with her.

"There are so many options!" Diesel told "Entertainment Tonight." "You've got Nathalie Emmanuel's mother. You've got, of course, the matriarch to the Shaw brothers!"