Grantchester's Emma Corrin to play Princess Diana in The
Crown
Actor says she will strive to do justice to Diana in season
four of Netflix show
Caroline Davies
Tue 9 Apr 2019 18.15 BST Last modified on Tue 9 Apr 2019
20.40 BST
The Grantchester actor Emma Corrin has been cast as Diana,
Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the critically acclaimed series The
Crown after she “immediately captivated” casting directors.
Netflix confirmed the decision in a tweet, adding that
filming for the latest season would begin this year. Corrin said she was
“beyond excited and honoured”.
She said: “I have been glued to the show since the first
episode and to think I’m now joining this incredibly talented acting family is
just surreal. Princess Diana was an icon, and her effect on the world remains
profound and inspiring. To be given the chance to explore her through Peter
Morgan’s writing is the most exceptional opportunity, and I will strive to do
her justice.”
She joins a cast including Olivia Colman who replaces Claire
Foy as Queen Elizabeth in the third series, to be screened later this year, and
Helena Bonham Carter who is to play Princess Margaret.
The series creator Morgan said: “Emma is a brilliant talent
who immediately captivated us all when she came in for the part of Diana
Spencer. As well as having the innocence and beauty of a young Diana, she also
has, in abundance, the range and complexity to portray an extraordinary woman
who went from anonymous teenager to becoming the most iconic woman of her
generation.”
The second series of The Crown took five Emmy awards,
including best actress for Foy and best director for a drama for Stephen
Daldry.
Diana was married to the Prince of Wales from 1981 to 1996.
She died in Paris in a car crash in 1997. She was famed for her advocacy of
charitable causes, including her work to tackle HIV and Aids.
Battle Royal: Rating The Crown's new cast, from Charles to
the Queen
Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter are among the
A-listers appearing in the new series of Netflix’s drama – but which of them
looks the best fit?
Stuart Heritage
@stuheritage
Tue 31 Jul 2018 06.00 BST Last modified on Tue 31 Jul 2018
07.05 BST
Olivia Colman in the third series of The Crown.
The Crown has got a lot to lose this year. For two seasons,
viewers have developed a sense of ownership over the cast – Matt Smith’s randy
Prince Philip, Vanessa Kirby’s Ab-Fab-gone-emo Princess Margaret, Claire Foy’s
confusingly expressive Queen Elizabeth – but now the decks have been cleared.
Over the last few weeks, we have experienced a slow drip of
casting announcements for series three of The Crown. The new cast may get to
shoulder some of the juiciest moments of Elizabeth’s reign – the show’s
creator, Peter Morgan, would be a fool if he didn’t end the cycle with all the
separations and fires of 1992 – so they need to be perfect. But are they? Let’s
rate the newcomers’ suitability, based on nothing but pure speculation
Josh O’Connor, Prince Charles
Admittedly, the 1970s were Charles’s “swordsman” years, to
the extent that we may even see an episode about him trying to have it off with
one of the Three Degrees. But, still, Josh O’Connor is a ruggedly handsome man,
and nobody in history has ever used the word “rugged” to describe Charles. 2/5
Tobias Menzies, Prince Philip
As one of the Tullys on Game of Thrones, Menzies has proved
that he can do anachronistic pomp with the best of them. Plus, like Matt Smith,
he shares Philip’s sternly equine bone structure. However, go and do an image
search for Tobias Menzies. What’s that? Is it … an earring? Imagine Prince
Philip getting his ear pieced. Imagine all the people he would kill with his
bare hands before the piercing gun even arrived in the same postcode as him.
2/5
Marion Bailey, the Queen Mother
Marion Bailey has enjoyed a long and prestigious career as
an actor – including a stint as the Queen in 2014 – and, at 67, is roughly the
same age as the Queen Mother in series three. The issue is, though, that she
simply doesn’t look old enough. The Queen Mother always looked absolutely,
breathtakingly, terrifyingly ancient. Unless producer/director Stephen Daldry
tips a bucket of dust over her before every scene, this will be hard to pull
off. 3/5
Erin Doherty, Princess Anne
Of all the new announcements, Doherty is the least known.
She may be a tremendous Princess Anne or she may be a terrible one. But, since
nobody has ever cared about a single thing that Princess Anne has ever done,
that probably won’t matter. 3/5
Ben Daniels, Lord Snowdon
Remember Ben Daniels
in House of Cards, playing a randy photographer? Guess what: now he’s going to
be on The Crown, playing a randy photographer. Perfect casting. Well done,
everyone. 3/5
Jason Watkins, Harold Wilson
First (and this is true of all three remaining actors),
seeing Jason Watkins in anything is a thrill. However, by playing a Labour
prime minister who deals with a ridiculous monarchical dynasty dripping with
wealth, Watkins will essentially be the antagonist of series three. Doesn’t he
seem a little too nice for that? 4/5
Olivia Colman, Queen Elizabeth
As the one actor on earth capable of bettering Claire Foy’s
turn as the Queen, Colman is guaranteed to be nothing less than spectacular
this year. The only potential niggle is that she is such a warm performer –
funny, vulnerable and angry – that she may struggle to connect with the
mile-high granite cliff-face of Elizabeth’s outward persona. Still, scowling
and waving isn’t exactly the worst way to make a living. 5/5
Helena Bonham Carter, Princess Margaret
This is why you’ll watch The Crown. Vanessa Kirby set up
Margaret perfectly, as a campy, vampy, obnoxious perpetual teenager. And nobody
in the universe will be able to cash in on that like Helena Bonham Carter.
Every microsecond of her performance is destined to become a gif, and that is
the highest compliment you can pay an actor in 2018. 7/5
Season three of The Crown will be released on Netflix in
2019
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