Dame Helen Mirren wants Hollywood to stop casting British actors as villains.
The Oscar-winning Queen star also wants Americans to know that Brits aren't "just the royal family".
"I think it's rather unfortunate that the villain in every movie is always British, we're such an easy target that they can comfortably make the Brits the villains," she said.
"It's just nice to say we're not snooty, stuck up, malevolent, malignant creatures as we're so often portrayed. We're actually kind of cool and hip!"
There has been no shortage of British stars playing baddies in Hollywood films in recent years.
Sir Ian McKellen took on the role of the villainous Magneto in the X-Men films, Paul Bettany was Silas in The Da Vinci Code and Alfred Molina played Dr Otto Octavius in Spider-Man 2. Others include Sir Ben Kingsley (Nizam in the forthcoming Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time), Sir Anthony Hopkins (Dr Hannibal Lecter), Brian Cox (Ward Abbott in the Bourne films) and Christopher Lee (Count Dooku in Stars Wars: Attack Of The Clones and Saruman in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy).
Dame Helen was speaking at an event to celebrate British success in Hollywood in the Consul General's Official Residence in LA.
Talking of the image Americans have of British people, she said: "It's very important to let Americans know that we're not just the royal family, there's a lot more to us than that.
"I love the idiosyncrasy of the British people, I love the eccentric nature of the British people, their boldness in fashion and I think the Brits have a very good eye for taste. They have a very good eye for what's cool and hip and nuts," she laughed.
-Yahoo.com
