ActressElizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in seasons five and six of the Netflix Emmy-winning historical drama seriesThe Crown, revealed in an interview earlier this year before the SAG-AFTRA strikes, that she felt uncomfortable and disgusted with the behavior of the fake paparazzi (viaVariety). Created by Peter Morgan, the hit series encapsulates the multi-generational ups and downs of the British Royal family and has won 21 Emmy Awards so far.
The sixth and final season will occur between 1997 and 2005, and centers around former PM Tony Blair’s rise to power, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship,and the death of Princess Diana. The main cast members are Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville, Dominic West, Olivia Williams, Ed McVey, Meg Ballmy, and Imelda Staunton.
Debicki explained that during the filming of scenes where paparazzi harassed Princess Diana, she felt very uncomfortable and was horrified by the situation. But while it was emotionally challenging for Debicki to film, she felt that the truth behind how Princess Diana was treated by the press needed to be told.
“It was difficult to recreate. It was heavy and very manic, and incredibly invasive. And it had a kind of pressure to it. At times it’s almost like an anomalistic response to being pursued by that many actors playing the press, because there’s nowhere you may go and you only have to be in a situation like that for about a minute, before you realize this is completely unbearable. Trying to get from one place to another and to have this swarm around you, you feel very trapped. It’s a really unpleasant experience. It’s really horrendous to have that many people yelling at you and wanting something. So we let it happen, because it feels like a very important part of the story to tell.”
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How Debicki Found The ‘Real Diana’ In Her Research For The Role
In preparing for her role as Princess Diana, the actress found it difficult to portray the late princess accurately due to publications from tabloids and the press creating a negative and incorrect narrative (viaDeadline).
“It is difficult. And I think in the end, no one would know who that real person was except her and probably her boys and Charles, and people who were very intimate with her. My avenue to trying to get close to that was a combination of things. One of the things I learned very quickly was when I tried to read books written about her, even by people who had been very close to her, people who had worked for her or friends… At a certain point of reading it, I always shut the book angrily, slammed it shut, and thought, ‘Well, you can’t say that.’ Every book has a subjective viewpoint, or they’re trying to sell a narrative.”
Debicki found resolve in research thanks to Princess Diana herself, who utilized media as a tool to defend herself from the tabloids. However, Debicki urges viewers to be understanding and nuanced in their opinions about Princess Diana’s life because of the various events and factors that remain unknown to the public.
“Funnily enough, the real Princess Diana really attempted to push back against the other narratives that were being pushed into the media by trying to be as close to the source of the information about her as possible, whether that was a collaboration with Andrew Morton on the book or thePanoramainterview. Those things are very interesting entry points into where that human may have been at that time. Obviously, take into consideration, like with thePanoramainterview, all the tragic information that came to light afterwards, realizing how manipulated she was and how strained the arrangement may have been and how that could have been transforming her point of view on certain things. So, you need to listen to it, but then understand the events that were affecting it to understand maybe different layers of it.”
The first four episodes ofThe Crown season six premiere on November 16, and the remaining episodes will be released December 14 on Netflix. you may watch the trailer forThe Crownseason six below:
