Elizabeth Debicki discusses the ‘heaviness’ of playing Princess Diana

Elizabeth Debicki has reflected on the ‘heaviness’ of playing Princess Diana in The Crown.

During an interview on the latest episode of Variety’s Award Circuit podcast, the Australian actress opened up about her role as the former Princess of Wales in the Netflix historical drama series.

“It’s a unique experience playing a character where this tragedy is looming,” the 32-year-old explained. “It’s a strange, heavy place to exist in.”

Elizabeth revealed that while preparing for the role, she received an “enormous amount of printed materials and books”, and said that she went through a “psychological journey” trying to encapsulate the essence of Diana.

The Great Gatsby actress recalled being “really fixated” and “obsessive” about nailing Diana’s “iconic” voice in the series.

“I feel like it was something I owed to the audience, that sonic accuracy,” the actress stated. “The voice of the character is so imprinted in our collective consciousness. There are a lot of iconic voices, and she had one of them and so I thought, ‘Well I have to do this justice.”

Elizabeth shared that she felt the pressure of playing 'the people’s princess', which is not something that she had expected.

“I never really understood what was lost because I hadn’t experienced the impact that she had on the public,” the Tenet actress said. “She’s taught me a lot; I think she lived her life with an enormous amount of courage and with a strong love ethic. She really loved deeply and she needed to be loved in a way that I don’t think she ever really found.”

Elizabeth will reprise her role as Diana in the upcoming sixth season, which will take place from the late 90s to the early 2000s.

A release date has not yet been announced.