- .Actress Naomi Watts plays Princess Diana in new biopic
- .Ms Watts says she had a moment when Diana 'granted her permission'
By SIMON BOYLE
Actress Naomi Watts believes Princess Diana gave her ‘permission’ from beyond the grave to play her in a new film about her love life.
The British-Australian actress, 44, admits the claim will sound unusual, but says the experience left her feeling more comfortable in the title role of the movie Diana.
Playing the Princess was, says Watts, her hardest ever role.
Call from beyond: Naomi Watts found herself asking for 'permission' to play Princess Diana in the new biopic
‘I kept wondering to myself “Would she like it?”,’ she reveals. ‘So I found myself constantly asking for her permission to carry on. I had saturated myself with Diana and her life and I felt this enormous responsibility of playing this iconic woman.
‘It felt like I was spending a lot of time with her. There was one particular moment when I felt her permission was granted. That won’t sound right in print, I know.’
The blonde actress, whose previous film roles have included The Impossible and Mulholland Drive, feared that she was not physically similar enough to Diana, who died in 1997.
‘There was a lot of hesitation on my part before I agreed to do it,’ she says in The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine today.
‘Obviously I was taking on one of the most famous women of my time, and an awful lot of pressure comes with that.
Iconic: Naomi (left) wears replicas of many of Diana's best known outfits in the film, such as this dress from a tour of Australia in 1996
'She (Diana) had a very expressive face. And she had that sideways smile we all remember, and those big eyes and a strong, athletic walk,' said Naomi
‘You want to get it right, and everybody is going to have an opinion on the film and how she should be portrayed. It’s very daunting.
‘But then I also knew the best roles come with a risk. In the end, I decided that I couldn’t not do it. This was a story that had to be told – it’s an important story – but it was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It’s as close as I ever want to get to a character.’
The biopic, which opens next month, focuses on the final two years of Diana’s life and includes details of her relationships following her divorce from Prince Charles – notably with Dodi Fayed and with heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan.
Dr Khan, played by Lost actor Naveen Andrews, met Diana in 1995 and their relationship is understood to have grown very intense – even talking of marriage together and starting a new life in Australia.
Producer Robert Bernstein has explained how the film-makers approached the relationship sensitively after discussions with Hasnat and his family.
Public work: Naomi recreates Diana's visit to a minefield in Huambo, Angola in 1997
Naomi recreates a visit Diana made to Luanda, Angola, in January 1997
He said: ‘The way we are treating the relationship is one of a romantic and tender nature, in keeping with how we feel about Diana and her life.
‘It’s a very aspirational, sympathetic portrait and not voyeuristic. Our sense of their relationship was that it was very spiritual and sensitive, as well as difficult, obviously. We are handling it very sensitively.’
Watts adds that her own approach involved a great deal of research, including meeting many of Diana’s friends. ‘It meant I could pick up little details and make sure I was doing it right,’ she says.
‘People were unanimous in their praise of her extraordinary sense of humour and her cheekiness. They also all said she had quite a rebellious streak, something I always admire.’
Watts believes her own experience of losing her father at a young age helped her to empathise with Diana’s sons Princes William and Harry.
Speaking of the Princes, she adds: ‘I would hate to upset them. I hope they feel good about it. It’s a piece of history we’re all interested in and at some point the story had to be told.’
Healing: Dr Hasnat Khan (left) met Diana in 1995. Their relationship quickly intensified and at one point they even discussed marriage. He is played by Naveen Andrews (right), best known as Sayid in TV series Lost
Tragedy: Dodi Fayed (left) was killed with Diana in 1997. He is played by Canadian actor Cas Anvar (right)
Trusted: Paul Burrell (left) was Diana's butler and described himself as her 'rock', though he later wrote a book about his experiences. He is played in the film by British film and theatre actor Douglas Hodge (right)
They talked of marriage...and escape to Australia
Diana’s secret affair with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan ended when they both realised that they couldn’t live a ‘normal’ life, says the film’s screenwriter, Stephen Jeffreys.
‘I think Diana was very attracted to Hasnat because of what he did. He had wonderful surgeon’s hands and eyes and she was tremendously excited to be near someone who was doing good work.
'However, in order to do that good work he couldn’t possibly be in the eye of a media storm.
‘When you are doing 12-hour-long heart operations you can’t come out of that and then have a her towards him meant they couldn’t stay together.
'I think that it was a relationship, which I’m sure we’ve all experienced, where you go on longer with it than rationally you should.
‘You kind of know it’s not going to work and there are clear reasons why, but the heart overrules the head.’
Jeffreys, who based his script on journalist Kate Snell’s book, Diana: Her Last Love, and his own extensive research, believes there was a chance that, had she lived, Diana and Khan would have got back together.
‘There was an escape plan that they would go to South Africa or Australia when the boys were older. But in the end I think it was a love affair that was defeated by practicalities.’
Jeffreys’ screenplay centres on the relationship between Khan and Diana. Her more publicised romance with Dodi Fayed, who died in the same Paris car crash that killed her on August 31, 1997, only features briefly at the end of the film.
‘Our view is, that relationship is less important – it was a summer romance; having looked at what she said, you feel that it was a bit of fun for her.’
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