Helen Mirren insists questioning over Golda Meir casting was 'legitimate'

Helen Mirren has insisted the questions over her casting as Golda Meir were "legitimate".

Last month, actress Maureen Lipman queried why a Jewish person wasn't selected to play Meir, the first woman to become head of government in Israel, in the upcoming film Golda.

"My opinion was that if the ethnicity or gender of the character drives the role then that ethnicity should be prioritised, as it is now with other minorities," Lipman stated in a letter to The Guardian.

Responding to Lipman's view in an interview for The Daily Mail published over the weekend, Mirren revealed that she had raised the issue with director Guy Nattiv prior to production starting.

"It was certainly a question that I had before I accepted the role. I said, 'Look Guy, I'm not Jewish, and if you want to think about that and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand,'" she recalled. "But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went.'"

Mirren went on to insist Lipman had sparked a wider discussion relating to casting within the entertainment industry.

"I do believe it is a discussion that has to be had - it's utterly legitimate... You know, if someone who's not Jewish can't play Jewish, does someone who's Jewish play someone who's not Jewish?" the 76-year-old asked.

Golda, which delves into the high-stake decisions the politician faced during the Yom Kippur War, is set to be released this year.