Have you caught a glimpse of Emma Corrin, the onscreen Princess Diana, in the fourth season of The Crown yet? We, for one, can’t take our eyes off her! But do you know how the beautiful young actress landed such an important role? Well, why don’t you join us as we try to find out?!
“It felt kind of like a marriage proposal”
Recently, while talking to People magazine, Corrin revealed that her first day on the set was during the filming of The Crown‘s third season. She recalled that some pickups for the third season were still going on when The Crown’s director, Ben Caron, called her to do a chemistry read with Josh O’Connor (the lead actor who played Prince Charles).
After she and O’Connor had enacted the scenes a couple of times, Caron turned towards the show’s producer (Suzanne Mackie) and asked if he could pop the question. After getting a green signal from her, Caron got down on one knee, as if proposing for marriage, and asked Corrin if she would play Princess Diana in the series. Well, of course, the 25-year-old said ‘Yes’!
How Corrin prepared for the role
Corrin started working on Di’s character by reading about and watching her, but somehow, she couldn’t adopt her personality as closely as she wanted. That’s when she approached choreographer Polly Bennett, and her life changed forever. The actress said Bennett not only helped her with the dance scenes, but she also lent a hand in adopting Di’s character and movement.
She disclosed that they both began reading the scripts and understanding the late royal’s arc over the series. To get the hang of Diana’s exact expressions and body language, the duo tried to figure out why the lady did what she did at a particular moment.
All this hard work finally paid off when in July 2021, Corrin was nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Speaking about the moment, she said when Di’s friends called her to congratulate her, she felt amazing. Seeing how much Di meant to those people was just extraordinary.
The actress even gave a shout-out to her co-star O’Connor for being a constant support throughout the journey. Calling him her best friend, she said he was always there whenever she needed him. Plus, since they shared a similar sense of humor and passion, it helped them bond in no time.
Corrin added that the role of Princess Diana and Prince Charles was a turning point in both her and O’Connor’s career, and the way they felt about it helped nurture their friendship. She signed off by saying that she’ll forever be grateful for having the actor in her life.
Who’ll play Princess Diana in the upcoming season of The Crown?
Yes, unfortunately, we won’t be seeing Emma Corrin in the fifth season of The Crown, which is expected to release in 2022. It will feature Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana and Dominic West as Prince Charles. Although the faces would be new, we’re hoping that fans would give them the same amount of love as they have for Corrin and O’Connor.
