Entertainment Movies Helen Mirren Broke Her Finger Filming 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' : 'I Was Incredibly Brave' "I wanted to be a real 'stunty' person," the Oscar winner revealed on The Graham Norton Show of her time making the upcoming sequel to Shazam! By Julia Moore Julia Moore Twitter Julia Moore is a digital news writer at PEOPLE. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 23, 2023 10:19AM EST Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Helen Mirren channeled her inner action star while filming Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The actress, 77, revealed that she chose not to use a stunt double for a few scenes for the upcoming superhero sequel to 2019's Shazam! — though not all of them went smoothly. "I did some of my own stunts, but I broke my finger," Mirren said during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. "I was incredibly brave and didn't say anything or complain because I wanted to be a real 'stunty' person." Mirren went on to share that she wanted to star in the film because she "loved the first Shazam," calling it "sweet and funny." "I am not a big superhero type person, but I loved the idea of it and happily signed up for the second one," Mirren said. "It is great." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures In Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Mirren plays Hespera, the daughter of Atlas, who — alongside her demigod sister, Kalypso (Lucy Liu) — tries to take back the god-gifted powers Shazam boasts. The details of the story aren't really part of Mirren's focus, though. "Don't ask me about the plot, it's too complicated!" she told Graham Norton before elaborating on working with Liu, 54. "We are angry goddesses wearing unbelievably heavy costumes. It was very hot and uncomfortable and in fact Lucy said at the end of the first day's shooting, 'They are trying to kill us' in all seriousness." Shazam! Fury of the Gods sees the titular character, played once again by Zachary Levi, trying to balance his life as average high schooler Billy Batson, while also facing the wrath of the daughters of Atlas. When he recites the word "SHAZAM!," he is struck by the Living Lightning of the gods and transforms into his superhero alter ego. In the second trailer for the long-awaited sequel, released in January, Levi revealed that "a lot had changed in the last few years" since viewers had seen him last. Now, "everybody" has superpowers. The "everybody" in question is the rest of the original cast members who play Billy's foster siblings and now, too, have the gods' power to transform into superhero alter egos. Adam Brody, Meagan Good, Ross Butler and D. J. Cotrona are set to star as the older alter egos. Jack Dylan Grazer, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand and Grace Caroline Currey are all returning to reprise their roles as the younger versions. Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters March 17.