Summary
- Elizabeth Debicki flawlessly portrays Princess Diana in The Crown, accurately capturing her appearance, mannerisms, and distinctive voice.
- The Crown's unique approach to casting multiple actors of differing ages adds depth and authenticity to the portrayal of characters over time.
- Elizabeth Debicki's wardrobe accurately replicates Diana's iconic outfits and her voice and accent are spot-on.
Netflix’s The Crown season 6, part 1 trailer shows that the first batch of episodes will focus on Debicki’s Diana one last time.
When Elizabeth Debicki was cast as Princess Diana for The Crown seasons 5 and 6, she had large shoes to fill. Not only did she have to accurately portray the beloved Princess Diana, but she also had to live up to Emma Corrin’s portrayal of Diana from The Crown season 4. The younger actor won a Golden Globe Award for their performance, and Debicki proved she was up for the challenge when she was nominated for almost every major award following The Crown season 5. The response to Debicki’s Princess Diana suggests that she portrayed the icon accurately, but just how accurately?
Elizabeth Debicki's Appearance Closely Resembles The Real Princess Diana
The Crown has been praised for its casting
The Crown’s casting has been a draw for the series, not just because of the brilliant work of the casting directors, but the way they approached casting. In a time when modern technology and the advancement of prosthetics allow actors to be aged up or down, The Crown took a unique approach by casting multiple actors of differing ages to play the characters over time. Debicki, who was 30 at the time she was cast to play Diana in The Crown, portrays the Princess of Wales from her early 30s to her tragic death at 36.
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Their closeness in age along with a short blonde wig helped Elizabeth Debicki resemble Princess Diana very closely. Debicki may not always favor Princess Diana naturally, as seen in other projects she’s done, but The Crown proves that some makeup and a wig can make a world of difference. In The Crown, Debicki almost disappears onscreen through her uncanny transformation into Princess Diana. The princess had a distinct look that many have tried to recreate both on screen and off, and Debicki certainly has captured Diana’s appearance in The Crown.
Elizabeth Debicki Is Five Inches Taller Than Princess Diana
Debicki brings Diana’s tall stature to the screen
Something that may be surprising about Princess Diana is how tall she is. The blonde stood at 5 foot 10, making her and her ex-husband, Prince Charles, the same height. Even more shocking is how tall Elizabeth Debicki is, towering above the average woman at 6 foot 3, making her a good five inches taller than the real-life woman she’s portraying in The Crown. Debicki is also a full three inches taller than Dominic West, who portrays Prince Charles in The Crown's final two seasons.
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It may seem to be a trivial detail, but Princess Diana’s height was a big part of her public image. In her engagement and wedding photos, she appears to be smaller than Prince Charles, though this is just an optical illusion that displays his rank and power over her as his wife. This is reflected in The Crown with Debicki and West as well. However, Debicki’s height also works in her favor when it comes to Princess Diana, as it allows both of them to take up the screen and command attention, even when they’re hiding away from it.
Elizabeth Debicki's Diana Flawlessly Recreates The Princess's Iconic Outfits
The Crown’s costuming works to replicate iconic outfits
The Crown is one of Netflix’s most expensive shows, and a good amount of the budget was spent on the costumes designed by Amy Roberts. Netflix has the tall task of covering some of the royal family’s most notable moments and the outfits that went along with them over the span of over 50 years. Through being photographed frequently before, during, and after her royal marriage, Princess Diana became a style icon whose influence is still seen today in trends like oversized sweatshirts paired with biker shorts, which can be seen on practically every street in Los Angeles.
The Crown season 5 replicated a number of Diana’s most famous outfits, including her “revenge dress.” Diana wore the black Christina Stambolian dress on the same night that Prince Charles finally publicly confessed his adultery in a televised interview. The outfit showed off her bare shoulders and gorgeous jewelry and became iconic in its own right, so naturally, a recreation of it had to be worn by Elizabeth Debick in The Crown season 5 to increase the authenticity of the series and her performance.
Wearing Diana's Revenge Dress Made Crown Season 5 Actor Feel Powerful
Elizabeth Debicki, taking on the role of Princess Diana, has commented on her feelings about wearing Diana’s iconic Revenge Dress in The Crown.
Elizabeth Debicki's Diana Accurately Captures Diana's Private & Public Personas
Diana was both very private and a public figure
Despite being constantly photographed, followed, and tasked with public appearances, Diana has been described by those who personally knew her as a private person. This was likely because of how she was obsessively watched and scrutinized by the public, the media, and even other of the royal family. There is a clear difference in The Crown between Elizabeth Debicki’s performance when Diana is surrounded by people versus when she’s alone or with a small group of people that she truly trusts and loves.
The Crown season 5 gave Elizabeth Debicki multiple solo and private scenes, not just to highlight the isolation and separation Diana felt from others, but also how much being a public figure took out of her. Diana was seen as elegant, warm, and strong by her ers, as well as quiet and uncomfortable in the spotlight. In a sense, Elizabeth Debicki is playing two characters by portraying the differences between Princess Diana’s public and private personas.
Elizabeth Debicki's Mannerisms Closely Reflect The Real Diana
Debicki did extensive research on the princess
One of the greatest ways Elizabeth Debicki established the two versions of Princess Diana in The Crown was through her distinctive mannerisms, some of which displayed her shyness and insecurity. Diana’s demeanor evolved as she aged, experienced the double-edged sword of fame, and her marriage to Prince Charles crumbled. Debicki made important choices in The Crown season 5 to convey this change through her physicality, particularly with the way she half-smiled as if she were embarrassed and/or uncomfortable, shied away from the camera, and appeared to try to make herself smaller.
There has been a great deal published on Diana, as well as tons of footage and pictures for Elizabeth Debicki to refer to for her performance in The Crown. Like many others who took on the role in various projects, the actress did her due diligence in her research. This extra effort has paid off in the authenticity of Debicki’s version of Princess Diana in The Crown.
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Elizabeth Debicki Accurately Recreates Diana's Distinctive Voice & Accent
The distinctive voice is instantly recognizable
Princess Diana was extremely unique, which makes playing her both exciting and challenging for many actresses. Some, like Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown, have found more success than others, but one of the major keys to an accurate portrayal is nailing Princess Diana’s voice. Her voice and accent are one part of her that will live on forever through the numerous interviews she gave during her life.
Elizabeth Debicki, who is Australian, had to not just work to perfect Diana’s posh British accent, but add the speech patterns and tonality that makes it so unique. Debicki worked with The Crown’s dialect coach, William Conacher, to not just do an imitation of Princess Diana’s soft, somewhat breathy, lilting voice, but perfect it in a way that it doesn’t sound too much like an impression. There are a lot of factors that need to come together to accurately portray Princess Diana, and Elizabeth Debicki managed to master them all in The Crown.
