Alfred Hitchcock once said that there were four people who helped make him who he was—one was a film director, one a script writer, one a cook and one the mother of his daughter. "Their names are Alma Reville," he said of his wife of 44 years, who performed all four roles. In the new biopic "Hitchcock," Helen Mirren rolls Reville's many facets into a singular performance.

Helen Mirren in 'Hitchcock.' Everett Collection

The movie, which opened in the city over the weekend, traces Hitchcock's (Anthony Hopkins) effort to make his 1960 classic, "Psycho," from his struggle with Hollywood studios to finance the picture to Reville's pivotal role in the movie's—and her husband's—success. "I was surprised to find out about the importance of Alma," Ms. Mirren said recently.

The Oscar-winning actress spoke with the Journal in New York about what compelled her to take the role.

What attracted you to the role of Alma Reville?

It's a lovely role, but originally the script really didn't work. The script kept coming around to me every year, for about four years. I kept saying, "I don't know, it's not quite there yet. If they do another draft, please send it on to me." A year would go by, another draft would arrive and I'd feel the same. It all changed when Sacha Gervasi, the director, came aboard. He was so enthusiastic about it, energetic and funny.

What about the script wasn't working?

It seemed to be about three completely different things. It was about the making of "Psycho." It was about Hitchcock and his psychology. And it was about Alma's involvement in the making of the film.

There hasn't been much written about Alma. How did you get into her psyche?

Hitchcock and Alma had one daughter. They didn't have any other children. And later on in life she wrote a book, a biography, and she didn't write it about her famous father, she wrote it about her mother. It was called "Alma Hitchcock." That meant a huge amount to me that she chose to write this book about her mother, because she wanted her mother's contribution to the family, to the movies, to the life that they all led together, she wanted that to be recognized.


To find out how powerful and important his wife was, comes as a bit of a shock to a lot of people. It's not what they expect at all—not what they want, actually. They don't want to hear that.

Film actresses like yourself, Susan Sarandon and Meryl Streep have become the gold standard for longevity in Hollywood. Is the environment getting better for women in Tinsel Town?

I think it's easier now because the world has changed. It's what I've always said: Don't worry about roles for women in drama, worry about roles for women in real life because if they change in real life, the roles will come. That's exactly what's happened, actually. And, it will continue to happen…I hope. I think I was just lucky, honestly.