The actress takes over from Olivia Colman to play Elizabeth II in season 5 of ‘The Crown’.
Netflix has managed to establish itself as one of the favorite streaming platforms thanks to its original series, from the record-breaking ‘Stranger Things’ to some of its true crime shows, such as ‘Dahmer’ – ‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story -. This week the fifth season of one of Netflix’s most successful series premieres: ‘The Crown’. Ten new controversial episodes about the personal lives of the British royal family. With the new season new faces also arrive, actors who are going to tell the nineties of the government of Queen Elizabeth II. Leading the cast we find Imelda Stauton in the role of Queen Elizabeth. She is known for her many roles, however, the public will remember her for her role as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter franchise. Staunton, who gets the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Olivia Colman, said she was “excited” about the season’s release on Netflix.
-What does it mean for you to get into the skin of Queen Elizabeth II?
-It’s very exciting, frankly. It excites me to talk about it, interpret it, study it. I feel extremely proud to be part of this series and, above all, proud of what we have done in this fifth season.
-Can you explain to us how you prepared to play Queen Elizabeth in her most mature stage.
-I have placed myself in the hands of a production team that has been studying it for four years and who know exactly what they are doing. They have the whistle of success and somehow, I’ve gotten carried away. There is a scene that shocked me, I can’t talk about it, but I can tell you that I was surprised with the luxury of detail that they gave me breakfast on stage. It was absolutely extraordinary. In the production of this series nothing escapes because they seek absolute perfection and they owe it to the institution to do it correctly. And, of course, I owe my role to Peter Morgan who investigates the emotional part and that is an area where we actors want to be up to the task.
-Have you felt vertigo to play Queen Elizabeth?
-When you sign the contract, it’s just you with the baton and it’s your job to prepare the character, but then, the last 3 or 4 months before starting to film, the work of the different departments that collaborate in the creation of the character and It was when I started working with them that I started to feel that I was shaping my role and yes, I got a little nervous.
-You learn about the British monarchy shooting this series.
-I have learned that you have to endure the challenge because this character is not like any other. As an actress you try to make it work, but in the wonderful exercise of acting, some days it works out and others it doesn’t. The challenge is getting the audience to come in and see what you feel without showing what you really feel. The actors of ‘The Crown’ are confined with our interpretive behavior, but what Peter Morgan tries to do is give us a life within that confinement and that is very satisfying to investigate
-Why are you receiving so much criticism this season?
-The thing about the events that happened in ‘The Crown’ is that you can easily ignore the actual events and get what these people feel and think, which is what the audience is seeing. We don’t know the actual event, we have to imagine how the characters are feeling at that particular moment, and the best thing about our scripts is that they are a microscope of what these characters are feeling while their own lives continue to run above those feelings. It is wonderful to tell their stories and humanize them.
-Did you like to wear the clothes of Queen Elizabeth?
-I started to worry when I thought I looked good in her wardrobe (laughs). I love it because it’s custom made and that helped me access the character. She’s never starred in a role where that part was such a big factor, but of course these are people that everyone knows. Actors often play people who have been made up, but the Queen, who stayed the same all along, achieved admiration, in part, because she never tried to be different or trendy or move with the times. She gave us who she was and people have a chance to recognize her through her years because she never freaked out.
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