Oscar nerves for Dame Helen

Dame Helen Mirren has admitted that she is suffering from a bout of pre-Oscar nerves.She is expected to win Best Actress for her leading role in The Queen, and the odds are so stacked in her favour that bookmakers have already closed the betting.She said: "I'm nervous about the Oscars. I mean, I'm calm in myself. But I feel nervous because I'm representing myself, the film, my country - and my monarch. It's a lot. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself."The 61-year-old fears that her past success, more than 20 prizes including a Bafta and a Golden Globe, may not work in her favour."I don't feel greedy exactly, but I worry people must be getting fed up with me."However, she added: "I'm not weary of awards yet. I'm happy to see this through."The Queen's director, Stephen Frears, described the choice of Dame Helen for the role as "sort of the best piece of casting there's ever been in the world".Frears, who as been nominated for best director alongside Clint Eastwood for Letters from Iwo Jima and Martin Scorsese for The Departed, does not rate his own chances:"Against Marty or Clint Eastwood? I don't take that as a serious possibility. So I'll have a nice time. I'll worry more about the other people."© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | February 23, 2007

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