Helen Mirren tackles tough fact-based role in new drama 'Golda,' based on Israeli prime minister

Helen Mirren won an Oscar for playing the Queen of England. She is playing another historical figure in her new film "Golda," transforming herself into Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel.

Meir was dubbed the "Iron Lady of Israel." She served from 1969 to 1974. Meir was in power when the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973. There were many losses.

"They blamed her for everything," said "Golda" director Guy Nattiv. "It was easier for them to blame a woman, you know? In 1973, she took all the blame and she resigned but she was the scapegoat of that war, and I think that this film is bringing a different narrative to the table."

Nattiv says the script allowed him to dive into the world of Golda Meir that most don't know.

"She found herself in this very Zionist, misogynistic group of people that didn't even count her, you know? They didn't even ask her what to do. She was just, 'What are we doing?' And they told her and they said, 'Don't worry. It's all being taken care of.' And guess what? It was not."

The movie doesn't shy away from the fact that Meir was a voracious smoker.

"It's a fact. This woman was smoking 50 packets a day. She was --cigarette after cigarette. She was killing herself," said Nattiv. "And I think it was kind of a, you know, thinking about what she felt. She knew she was going to die. She knew she's ill and there's no way out. And she was stressful from this war. She thought that we are going to be diminished and she just smoked herself to death."

"Golda" is rated PG-13. It's in theaters Aug. 25.