Netflix has released its first look of the Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales in the upcoming fifth season of The Crown.
The British actor Dominic West will play her estranged husband Prince Charles as the pair traverse the 1990s, an era beset by extramarital affairs, eating disorders and assorted royal family dramas.
Production of the fifth season began in the UK in July, with Debicki and West taking over from Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor, who portrayed the younger royals in the previous season through their courtship and marriage in the 1980s.
Imelda Staunton takes over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce takes over from Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, and Lesley Manville picks up Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Princess Margaret.
Gillian Anderson’s Margaret Thatcher of the 80s makes way for Jonny Lee Miller’s John Major of the 90s.
Melbourne-raised Debicki first received international recognition eight years ago with her portrayal of Jordan Baker in Baz Luhrmann’s film The Great Gatsby, which won her an Aacta award for best actress in a supporting role.
The statuesque actor (she is 1.91 metres tall) went on to feature in Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., the third instalment of the Cloverfield franchise, The Cloverfield Paradox, and Steve McQueen’s Widows, in which she garnered multiple film industry award nominations. She also played Virginia Woolf in Chanya Button’s Vita & Virginia.
In 2020 Debicki starred in Christopher Nolan’s spy thriller Tenet opposite Kenneth Branagh.
The fifth season of The Crown is not expected to hit screens until next year. – Guardian
