‘It was hard not to take it personally’: The Crown’s Emma Corrin admits she struggled with Olivia Colman’s ‘stone cold horrible’ portrayal of The Queen
The Crown star Emma Corrin has admitted she struggled to adjust to Olivia Colman’s ‘stone cold horrible’ portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II.
The actress, 24, admitted she was shocked with Olivia’s transformation from ‘a ray of sunshine’ into the stoic monarch to film scenes opposite her character Princess Diana.
Emma is set to make her debut as Diana in the upcoming fourth series of The Crown, which will depict her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles in the 1980s.
Candid; The Crown star Emma Corrin has admitted she struggled to adjust to Olivia Colman’s ‘stone cold horrible’ portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II
Emma told Town and Country magazine that she was stunned by Olivia’s drastic change into the Queen, given she was so friendly and jovial on set.
She said: ‘Obviously, Olivia is the biggest ray of sunshine ever… She just went stone cold horrible. It was so hard to not take it personally.’
Emma added that she still doesn’t like being asked about the ‘iconic’ role as she fears it makes the late Diana ‘untouchable’.
‘I hate being asked what it’s like to play someone iconic. It makes her untouchable—the whole point was that she was touchable,’ she added.
Difficult: The actress said she tried ‘not to take it personally’ when she saw Olivia’s transformation into the stoic monarch (The Queen is pictured right in 1982)
At odds: Series four of The Crown is set to feature Diana’s introduction into the Royal Family following her marriage to Princes Charles, and their tumultuous relationship
Emma was originally contacted to read as Diana alongside co-star Josh O’Connor in 2018, after he’d landed the role of Prince Charles, as The Crown bosses tried to find the right actress to play Camilla Parker-Bowles.
The star was not auditioning for the role of Diana, but her speech efforts impressed the team so much, she was offered the role eight months later.
The Crown’s fourth series will begin as the 1970s are drawing to a close, with the Royal Family preoccupied with safeguarding the line of succession by securing an appropriate bride for Prince Charles who is still unmarried at 30.
Legend: Emma added that she still doesn’t like being asked about the ‘iconic’ role as she fears it makes the late Diana ‘untouchable’ (Emma pictured left and Diana right in 1985)
The world’s most famous couple: The Crown’s fourth series will depict Diana and Charles’ fairytale romance and later marriage, despite the tensions that formed behind closed doors
The British nation is struggling with the impact of the divisive policies introduced by Britain’s first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Tensions between the Prime Minister and the Queen are expected to only get worse as Thatcher leads the country into the Falklands War, generating conflict within the Commonwealth.
A silver lining comes in the form of Charles’ fairytale romance with young Lady Diana, but behind closed doors, the Royal family is becoming increasingly divided.
Diana married Charles in 1981, and the couple welcomed sons William in 1982 and Harry in 1984.
To be wed: Josh O’Connor will depict Prince Charles (left), as the series depicts his turbulent marriage to Diana (Charles pictured right in 1984)
Five years into the marriage, the couple’s incompatibility and age difference of almost 13 years became visible and damaging.
Charles resumed his relationship with his former girlfriend Camilla and Diana reportedly had an affair with riding instructor Major James Hewitt.
After separating in 1991, the couple divorced in 1996, with Diana then tragically killed in a car accident on 31st August 1997.
Charles and Camilla eventually went public two years later and married in 2005.
The Crown Series four will be released on Netflix on Sunday, November 15.
At odds: Fans will also seen the beginnings of Charles’ affair with ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles, which began mere months after he and Diana tied the knot