Yahoo Movies The Crown 's Emma Corrin Recalls Going to Prince William and Kate Middleton's Royal Wedding at 15
Emma Corrin is crediting Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal wedding for sparking her initial interest in the royal family when she was a teenager.
While appearing virtually on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday, the 25-year-old actress admitted she didn't grow up a "massive royal family person" until William and Kate's fairy tale royal wedding at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.
The star, who took to the streets to watch the royal nuptials, then described what it was like to stand outside in the celebratory crowds to host Jimmy Kimmel.
"I remember 10 years ago, I was 15, I was with my friend Katherine and we got very very swept up in the royal wedding fever I think probably because we were both very bored and very single. So we decided to go," Corrin began, adding that before the wedding, she and her friend bought a DVD about William and Kate's love story, which she described as "so bad that it's so good."
"We were so excited because my friend Katherine had this great inflatable daffodil. I remember that when we were watching the footage back to see if we could get a glimpse of ourselves, we couldn't see ourselves but we did see, in the middle of these crowds, this massive inflatable daffodil that she was holding up," she continued.
Jimmy Kimmel Live/Youtube
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton
Now, Corrin views that experience as a full-circle moment since joining the cast of The Crown, telling Kimmel that portraying Princess Diana has been difficult to process. But she fully embraced the role and told the host she tried to "absorb as much information as I could" in order to make her portrayal accurate.
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And while the actress worked with a dialect coach, she said what really helped her nail the role was help from her mother, who she said guided her through mastering her recreation of Diana's voice.
"She's a speech therapist ... and was amazing and helped me with my auditions when I was prepping for them," Corrin explained. "She would give me tips on the voice. We would sit in this little cafe near where I lived at the time and help me do the voice and say, 'Oh well she sort of speaks with this sort of lilt at the end of her voice,' and it was very sweet."
Des Willie/Netflix; Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images Emma Corrin; Princess Diana
Despite the success of the show, the actress told Kimmel said she sometimes worries that her involvement in The Crown is something that's going to follow her for the rest of her life - adding that no matter where she goes, people constantly talk about Princess Diana.
Corrin joined the cast of the Netflix hit for season 4, which premiered in 2020. Earlier this year, The Crown star took home the award for best performance by an actress in a television series - drama at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards for her captivating performance.
"Working on The Crown was the most magical experience in no small part thanks to the incredible cast and crew that supported and helped guide me through, including my wonderful friend, Josh O'Connor who has so deservingly been recognized today as well," she said during her acceptance speech at the time.
"Thank you so much to Diana, you have taught me compassion and empathy far more than I could ever imagine," she added.
