“The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki on how remembering Diana’s death affected her performance and those “ghost scenes”.

Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in Netflix seasons 5 and 6 The crownShe was a nine-year-old girl in Australia when Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris in 1997. She carried this childhood memory with her as she recreated the princess’ final days in the Netflix drama.

“I remember my mother’s reaction very, very clearly; “I remember sitting on our living room floor and watching my mom watch the funeral procession and crying,” Debicki told Deadline on the red carpet for the sixth season premiere. The crown. “I didn’t understand what was going on and she explained to me who this person was. In some ways, it’s actually a pretty strong core memory, so I learned a lot and did a lot of research when I approached this role, but I think knowing that this woman influenced my mother, a woman in suburban Australia, is something that was already deeply embedded in my understanding of the story.

The first four episodes of season six describe the events leading up to Diana’s death and its immediate aftermath, including visions of the late princess having conversations with the Queen and Prince Charles.

These scenes attracted widespread attention and references to Diana’s “ghost” were made.

The crown Creator Peter Morgan has a problem with this.

“The word ghost doesn’t help, I’ve never written anything from a supernatural perspective, not at all,” he told Deadline. “It was more of an indication that someone who has just passed away is still alive in the minds of everyone who is close to them and loves them. And sometimes it’s impossible to put them out of your mind. To me it felt more like an extension of her in real life than a ghost.

Debicki agrees.

“I’ve always been very fascinated by Peter’s thoughts and I think it’s an interesting and beautiful way to have a conversation about the experience of grief,” she said of the scenes with Diana after her death. “I think that’s how we approached it. It’s so delicate, human, overwhelming, you can’t expect someone to have lost, and I think the way he portrayed it was very beautiful and made sense to me.