From Kristen Stewart to Naomi Watts: The best and worst portrayals of Diana on screen
Kristen Stewart in Spencer.
Kristen Stewart will become the latest actress to emulate the people’s princess with the release of on Friday, November 5. Here’s a rundown of some of the actresses who have tried (and sometimes failed) to capture Diana’s star power:
Stewart is probably best known for her portrayal of Bella Swan in the Twilight franchise, but the American actress is also no stranger to recreating female icons on the big screen having previously portrayed American rock star Joan Jett and actress Jean Seberg.
If the reviews are anything to go by, it looks like Stewart has really captured the beautiful but awkward nature of the Princess of Wales in Spencer and some critics are already predicting an Oscar win for the performance. Directed by Pablo Larrain, Spencer takes place over three days in December 1991 as Princess Diana spends Christmas at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham estate and her relationship with Prince Charles unravels. We’ll definitely be heading to the cinema for this one.
Despite her acting prowess, Watts’ interpretation of the people’s princess in 2013’s Diana was way off the mark with one reviewer questioning whether the film was in fact “an MI5 plot to blacken Diana's name and make her look plastic and absurd?” The film was based on Kate Snell’s 2001 book, and focused on Diana’s relationship with Pakistani heart surgeon, Dr Hasnat Khan, and billionaire Dodi Fayed.
But despite the interesting source material, the movie was a major flop at the box office and remains a blip in Watt’s career. The actress later said she had been “seduced” by the opportunity to play an icon and admitted the film had been a "sinking ship."
With a host of well-established and beloved actors signing on the Crown in recent years, one can only imagine the stiff competition Corrin faced in obtaining the role as a young Diana in the fourth season of the Netflix hit.
But she certainly proved her mettle. The relatively unknown British actress’ portrayal of the Princess of Wales is convincing and moving, as she tackles Diana’s struggles with an eating disorder, an unfaithful partner and the loneliness of royal life. Corrin’s performance earned her a Golden Globe, Critic’s Choice Award and a SAG for the role during the 2021 awards season.
Given Diana's love for musical theatre, the idea of a musical which puts Diana’s life centre stage is so good we have to wonder why it hasn’t been done before. But then we saw the musical, and we didn’t have to wonder anymore. opened on Broadway in previews in March 2020, but the curtain soon fell as theatres had to close due to Covid-19. A filmed performance of the musical was added to Netflix last month in advance of a return to the stage on November 2, but we’d save our money if we were you.
De Waal is a beautiful actress with a stunning voice, but she really had no hope with that script. Comedian Josh Weller tweeted that it was “accidentally the best comedy I have ever seen” which is probably as much praise as it’s likely to get.
Irish-Australian Genevieve O’Reilly is best known for her role as Mon Mothma in the Star Wars franchise having portrayed the character in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One.She has also starred in classics like The Matrix and Avatar.
But one role which has flown under the radar is her portrayal of Diana in a strange Channel 5 documentary that mixed real-life footage of the princess with re-enactments from O'Reilly, alongside interviews from people who knew Diana such as her butler Paul Burrell and royal correspondent Camilla Tominey. As the documentary mixes actual footage of Diana alongside O'Reilly's re-enactments, it's hard to really believe O'Reilly's performance, but it isn't a fail either.
actress Elizabeth Debicki will be taking over from Emma Corrin as Princess Diana for the final two installments of . The latter series will focus on the end of Charles and Diana’s marriage, and will include a dramatisation of Diana's bombshell Panorama interview with Martin Bashir.
Unfortunately, there are no clips of Debicki in character yet, but Netflix have released a still of the Australian actress from filming and the resemblance is striking. The Crown hasn’t gone wrong with casting yet, so we are excited for this one.
