'The Crown' Actor On Scenes Leading Up To Princess Diana's Death: "Heavy And Manic"

Elizabeth Debicki, who is portraying the roles of Princess Diana in Netflix's The Crown, has described how she felt shooting the tragic events on 1997. Speaking to reporters ahead of the launch of the sixth season of the royal drama, the 33-year-old said the scenes leading up to Princess Diana's death were "heavy and very manic, and incredibly invasive", reports Deadline. The show's sixth season will debut in two parts - on November 16 and December 14 - the first of which will cover the weeks leading up to Diana's death and its devastating impact on her family and the monarchy.

"It was difficult to recreate. At times it's almost like an animalistic response to being pursued, by that many actors playing the Press, because there's nowhere you can go and you only have to be in a situation like that for about a minute before you realise this is completely unbearable," Ms Debicki said.

"And no-one should ever be having to experience what it feels like to try and get the scenes in the daytime in Paris, trying to get from one place to another, and to have this swarm around you. You feel very trapped. It's a really unpleasant experience," she further said, as per the Deadline report.

The report said Netflix has already made it clear that Diana's death in a car crash in Paris will take place off screen but the lead-up includes the heavy media attention that the Princess and her partner Dodi Fayed generated.

Ms Debicki said recreating the scenes made her feel that "there was not a huge amount of acting taking place... because it's really horrendous to have that many people yelling at you and wanting something". The actor was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe for her portrayal of Diana in Season 5.

Khalid Abdalla, 42, who plays Dodi Fayed, said he even walked the route taken by the car in which the couple died in the Alma tunnel to better "understand" what happened.

"It's a huge responsibility, and I hope audiences, when they see it, feel that we have done it right and honoured how sensitive it is," he said.

The Crown first hit screens in 2016, chronologically charting the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. In the show's fourth season, Diana's character was portrayed by Golden Globe winner Emma Corrin. Ms Debicki took over the part in 2022.