Alfred Hitchcock featured a bevy of beautiful women in his films over the years, but the one closest to his heart (and the secret behind some of his most bold filmmaking moves) was his wife, Alma Reville.
"Alma was actually shoulder-to-shoulder with Alfred, rather than behind him," Helen Mirren, who plays Alma, told TODAY's Matt Lauer Friday. "She was his partner in work, she was his partner in life."
In the film, Hitchcock is coming off of the success of his latest film, "North By Northwest," and wants to make a bold move on his next picture -- which would become arguably the first modern horror film, "Psycho." But when the studio isn't thrilled by the thriller idea, he and Alma have to finance the movie themselves.
Mirren noted that Alma remained in the shadows and let the spotlight fall on Alfred, but as she learned in researching the part, "People who know say there were four hands on Alfred Hitchock's movies, and two were Alma's."
"Hitchcock" opens in theaters Nov. 23.
Check out what else Helen Mirren had to say in the video!
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