Emma Corrin on Her Diana Role in ‘The Crown’ — 'I Ended Up Having This Overwhelming Appreciation for Her Complexity'

Emma Corrin, who portrayed Princess Diana on The Crown, has received nothing but praise for her portrayal of the late royal family icon. And the Emmy nominations she got are only proof of that.

But it wasn’t easy playing such a big role. Corrin made it look effortless, but the whole process, from being selected for the job to the actual task, was a daunting undertaking. So much so that she even felt like someone was asking her for a marriage proposal.

Her Hard Work Paid Off

For those who have watched the show, you should know that it wasn’t in season 4, but in season 3, that Corin made her first appearance on The Crown. And the showrunners knew she was the right person to portray Diana immediately.

They invited her to one of the chemistry reads with Josh O’Connor, who portrayed Prince Charles. And it only took her a couple of reads to confirm her place.

After a few tries, Ben Caron, the director, got down on his knee (sort of) and asked Corrin, “Will you be Diana?” Corrin obviously said yes.

She immediately got to figuring Diana out. She started researching about her, and that included reading and watching things about her.

Then, it was time for the actual scenes. Corrin worked with her choreographer, Polly Bennett, to figure out what Diana would be feeling in each of the scenes. They used the scripts and her character arc for that.

All that hard work paid off for her. She received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and won a Golden Globes for the same back in March. But there was something arguably even more valuable she got for her immaculate performances.

And those would be some of Princess Diana’s friends reaching out to her. “It was really wonderful to sort of hear how much it had meant to them,” Corrin said of those appreciative words from them.

Moving Away From Diana

The show taught her so much. She had to learn tap-dancing, roller-skating, and even acting to an extent. After all, this was her first big role.

Corrin learned a lot about Princess Diana, too. She portrayed Diana from when she was 16 to 28 and learned how the royal was dealt difficult cards at such a young age.

“I ended up having this overwhelming appreciation for her complexity. I’m fascinated by the young Diana,” said Corrin to The Guardian of her experience playing the iconic figure.

Other learning moments were her scenes with Olivia Colman, who portrayed the Queen, and Emerald Fennell, who played Camilla Shand. And of course, there were learning moments with O’Connor, who she spent the most time with on sets.

Corrin noted that she’s sad she has only a small part on the show. But she knew what she was getting herself into and was also glad that she could now move away from Diana.

Corrin doesn’t want to be remembered only for this; she wants to move away from the rich English characters quickly. Already working on a secret project, the actress wants to do a “reverse Josh O’Connor,” taking smaller roles in independent movies.

Whether she does big projects or small in the future, she has left enough of a mark to remain in audiences' memory for quite a while with her portrayal of Princess Diana.