ACTOR Naomi Watts has said she believes Princess Diana granted her permission from beyond the grave to play her in a new film role.
Watts is playing Diana in a forthcoming biopic, which details the late princess’ secret love affair with the heart surgeon Hasnat Khan shortly before her death.
The Australian Oscar-nominated actor says that during the making of the movie she dreamt about the princess a lot and that there were many moments she “felt Diana’s presence”.
In an interview with the UK’s Mail on Sunday she said: “I kept wondering to myself: “Would she have liked it?”
“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.”
Her comments come after it was revealed British police are investigating claims that the late princess and Dodi Al Fayed were murdered by a former British soldier.
The 'People's Princess', her boyfriend Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel after leaving the Ritz Hotel on August 31, 1997. Diana was 36.
The Watts biopic focuses on the two years leading up to her death and ending with the fateful trip to Paris. It deals specifically with her relationship with Khan.
Diana first met Khan in 1995 when she went to visit a friend recovering from surgery at the same hospital where he worked.
Although Khan has never spoken publically about the relationship, he told an inquest in to her death that he and the princess had discussed marriage.
Watts, 44, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Impossible admits it was a daunting role to take on.
Watts said: “There was a lot of hesitation on my part before I agreed to do it. Obviously I was taking on one of the most famous women of my time and an awful lot of pressure comes with that.
“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 that the exciting roles, the best roles, come with a risk. In the end I decided that I couldn’t not do it.”
Watts researched the role painstakingly. She read biographies and watched old interviews. She said that before filming she spent an hour each day having a prosthesis fitted to her nose. She also studied Diana’s body language and worked with a voice coach.
“She had a very expressive face,” she told the paper. “And she had that sideways smile we all remember, and those big eyes and a strong, athletic walk.” She said she talked to former friends of Diana.
“The people I met who knew her were unanimous in their praise of her extraordinary sense of humour and her cheekiness,” she said.
“They also all said she had quite a rebellious streak, which I think is something I always admire.
“What also came through was that she was someone who was wildly charismatic in the way that we know someone like Bill Clinton is.”
Watts is playing Diana in a forthcoming biopic, which details the late princess’ secret love affair with the heart surgeon Hasnat Khan shortly before her death.
In an interview with the UK’s Mail on Sunday she said: “I kept wondering to myself: “Would she have liked it?”
“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.”
Her comments come after it was revealed British police are investigating claims that the late princess and Dodi Al Fayed were murdered by a former British soldier.
The 'People's Princess', her boyfriend Fayed and their driver Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a Paris tunnel after leaving the Ritz Hotel on August 31, 1997. Diana was 36.
The Watts biopic focuses on the two years leading up to her death and ending with the fateful trip to Paris. It deals specifically with her relationship with Khan.
Diana first met Khan in 1995 when she went to visit a friend recovering from surgery at the same hospital where he worked.
Although Khan has never spoken publically about the relationship, he told an inquest in to her death that he and the princess had discussed marriage.
Watts, 44, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Impossible admits it was a daunting role to take on.
Watts said: “There was a lot of hesitation on my part before I agreed to do it. Obviously I was taking on one of the most famous women of my time and an awful lot of pressure comes with that.
“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 that the exciting roles, the best roles, come with a risk. In the end I decided that I couldn’t not do it.”
Watts researched the role painstakingly. She read biographies and watched old interviews. She said that before filming she spent an hour each day having a prosthesis fitted to her nose. She also studied Diana’s body language and worked with a voice coach.
“She had a very expressive face,” she told the paper. “And she had that sideways smile we all remember, and those big eyes and a strong, athletic walk.” She said she talked to former friends of Diana.
“The people I met who knew her were unanimous in their praise of her extraordinary sense of humour and her cheekiness,” she said.
“They also all said she had quite a rebellious streak, which I think is something I always admire.
“What also came through was that she was someone who was wildly charismatic in the way that we know someone like Bill Clinton is.”
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