Mr Selfridge star Jeremy Piven: I curtsied when I met Helen Mirren

The US actor said meeting Mirren was like meeting royalty

Starstruck: Jeremy Piven said he quizzed Clive Owen about role

Jonathan Hordle/Rex

Samuel Fishwick @Fish_o_wick|Miranda Bryant20 January 2016

Mr Selfridge actor Jeremy Piven has told how he still gets starstruck — saying that he bombarded Clive Owen with questions when he spotted him in a New York restaurant and that speaking to Helen Mirren was like “meeting royalty”.

The LA-based actor and producer, who made London his second home while filming the ITV series in which he plays Harry Selfridge, said he is so hooked on Steven Soderbergh-directed drama The Knick that when he saw its star Owen sitting in the restaurant he had to speak to him.

The 50-year-old actor told ES Magazine, in an interview to be published tomorrow: “I had a bunch of questions. We weren’t sat next to each other, just awkwardly sitting on opposite tables, but he was gracious enough to answer them.”

Piven, who was in TV series Entourage, also admitted he has a “professional crush” on Mirren.

He said: “She always delivers and she’s kind of ageless. I met her backstage at the Emmys, where we were both lucky enough to have hardware in our hands, and I was gushing and telling her how great she was.

“It was like meeting royalty, even though she’s so down to earth. I curtsied at one point.”