Chicago Film Festival honors Helen Mirren, husband Taylor Hackford

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Film Festival just honored actress Helen Mirren and her husband, director Taylor Hackford.

For years the Chicago International Film Festival has attempted to get the Academy Award winners in town together so they could be honored with the festival's Golden Hugo and finally it happened.

The Hollywood power couple has been married for over 20 years.

"When this happened for me I realized this is the girl for me and I realized how lucky I am. The reality is when it's right, you're lucky to find it," Hackford said.

"We like to sort of launch off into unexpected areas and we found each other in that sense," Mirren said.

"Just before a take I go into my own world, I concentrate and I get into that, I'm not someone who's like that in the trailer or on the set in general," Mirren said.

Much of Mirren's career has been playing queens, Hackford said she has a gift.

"I watched her every day and she'd put these videotapes in, a couple of hours every afternoon, and all of these tapes were of the queen as a little girl," Hackford said.

Not too long ago, Hackford directed a musical called "Louis and Keely" in Chicago. Perhaps his wife will also trod the boards in town one day.

"I know that Chicago is in fact the premiere theater town in America so that's incredibly important in my world," Mirren said.