Emma Corrin 'Playing Diana Is Scary'

The breakout star of the crown opens up about playing an icon

Playing the world’s most photographed woman might have been daunting for many young actresses but Emma Corrin tried not to let the opportunity to star as Lady Diana Spencer in the fourth season of The Crown overwhelm her.

The 24-year-old may only have a handful of other roles to her name – including a part in this year’s British comedy-drama Misbehaviour alongside Keira Knightley – but Corrin says that while portraying Diana was “scary”, she was also excited to take on a pivotal role in a series as acclaimed as The Crown.

“It feels great,” the English star says of her performance finally airing. “I’m excited for everyone to see this season. It’s felt like such an intense build-up so it’s great people can now watch and hopefully enjoy it.” Here, Corrin dishes on overcoming her fears to create an icon …

Was there ever a point where you had second thoughts about playing someone as iconic and as loved as Princess Diana?

I was a little daunted at first because of all the noise about it, all the opinions out there, the huge responsibility, and the fact I was a fan of the show before I was part of it. So I did get a little scared about it but I just had to put blinkers on, do my own thing, and trust in the script to bring our own version of Diana to the screen.

How much did you know about Diana before taking on the role of playing her?

I knew a bit about her, of course, but she died when I was very young so I didn’t really know her as many people do. But I think not having any living memory of her worked in my favor because it meant I was able to create my own version of her, which is what The Crown does with all of its characters.

How did you go about capturing her look so well?