“I’ve always had a problem with the woman having to be smaller than the man”

Here she is at Dior, of which she is an ambassador jewelry. The large clear eyes of a melancholic cat, an enigmatic smile, which perhaps betrays an amused lucidity about the world around her, a bearing of height, legs as long as a Christmas evening at Balmoral: such is this cosmopolitan actress , of Australian nationality, discovered in 2013 in Gatsby the magnificentby Baz Luhrmann, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, then seen in particular in tenet, by Christopher Nolan. Who else but her could embody the role of Lady Diana in the fifth season of the hit series The Crown, broadcast since November on Netflix. Role that she has already found for the sixth and final season, the filming of which has just ended.

“A Revolutionary Princess”

After Naomi Watts (Dianaby Oliver Hirschbiegel), Emma Corrin (The Crownseason 4) Kristen Stewart (spencer, by Pablo Larraín), Elizabeth Debicki entered the VIP list of actresses who had the privilege of evoking the cult Princess of Wales. For Debicki, it was during the last six years of his life, between 1991 and 1997, the most tumultuous years of his existence and the most perilous that the English monarchy had known, with the fire at Windsor Castle, the divorce of the children of Elizabeth II, the Camillagatethe settling of scores by interposed interviews between Charles and Diana, the explosive biography ofAndrew Morton and the divorce of the princely couple. Six capital years, according to Peter Morgan, the author of the series, during which the lost young princess is transformed into a fighting highness who prepares her escape.

At that time, some stigmatized Lady Diana, judging her unbalanced, fragile, superficial, spoiled child… So, for these reasons, she defended herself valiantly, used the media to make herself heard, to speak her truth as a woman, to unhappy, cheated and underestimated woman. “In this, I find it very modern, very feminist, advances Elizabeth Debicki. She participated in the emancipation of women in difficulty, who, thanks to her, dared to express themselves without fear. This is the vision of the Princess of Wales that the actress has chosen to show. “Not a rebellious or capricious princess, she adds, but a revolutionary princess, the one who was the first to break taboos by breaking the courtly silence.”

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Miss Figaro. – Was it an acting challenge to personify Lady Di, a popular icon?
Elizabeth Debicki. – When I was offered to be part of this adventure, I said yes right away, while immediately measuring the immense challenge that this role represented. Lady Diana, more than twenty years after her death, remains one of the most famous people in the world, the most admired, the most loved, the most commented on: there should be no mistake in her interpretation. You have no right to misinterpretations. How can you achieve a synthesis between what she really experienced, based on objective situations, what she buried, and what your own imagination suggests to you? It is this work, colossal for a performer, which makes this role fabulous.

How did you integrate his way of speaking, of moving and this blue look from bottom to top which is his signature?
I spent hours looking at archive footage, reading what had been written about Lady Diana. I worked with a coach to decode his way of walking, looking, speaking or remaining silent. I got into character little by little, while knowing modestly that I was only able to embody a part of her, the one that I understood.

Diana is revolutionary in that she tried to break the mold she was meant to fit into.

Elizabeth Debicki

Did you love him?
Yes, I loved her, but in the end I didn’t know much about her. When she died, I was young, and I lived in Australia. I loved her for what she accomplished, for her humanitarian fights. So when I started studying his character, I had no prejudices. I was unaware of the trauma of his youth caused by the separation of his parents, his deep loneliness. I had not measured that she had gone through great moments of depression. I only knew the image she sent back in public, that of a smiling, elegant, charismatic young woman, open to others. I hadn’t understood the toxic impact of the media on her. As we know today, this media frenzy fed her, just as it spoiled her moments of intimacy. There were really two women in her, the one who loved the light, and the other, terrified by overexposure. She has not found her place between shadow and light. It is this ambivalence that characterizes her. It would be simplistic to say that she was rebellious, because I think she was trying to be herself.

Read alsoThe Crown : this photo of Elizabeth Debicki wearing the same gray suit as Diana the day she died

Has it contributed, in your opinion, to improving the status of women?
Without a doubt. She remains a feminist symbol. She was one of the first public figures to dare to talk about her discomfort, her unhappy marriage or her eating disorders, at a time when these themes were still very taboo. I find this attitude extremely courageous. She allowed other women to openly share the problems they encounter in their work or in their homes. To talk about it without shame, to emancipate oneself. For me, Diana is revolutionary in the sense that she tried to break the mold in which we wanted her to fit.

How do you react to the mistrust that some of the English have expressed towards the series?
This season arrived on Netflix very shortly after the death of Elizabeth II, so loved by the English. I think some mostly expressed their grief at that time. But I know that those who wrote the episodes did so with respect and a great sense of responsibility. This season tells how the story, so intimate and personal, of the Prince of Wales and Lady Di has been revealed in the public square, and how it has affected these two beings and an entire nation.

How did you slip so easily into the princess’s wardrobe?
Lady Diana was a fashion icon of the 1990s, and I loved those years. She knew how to both wear glamorous dresses, but also, a woman of her time, be comfortable in jeans, campaign clothes and rubber boots with the same chic. The clothes she wore in official events constituted her armors.

For you, is clothing also armor?
A garment protects you from the gaze of others or your own gaze. Clothing helped me establish myself. However, I always had a problem with my size and with this ukase which wants that the woman must be smaller than the man! I don’t see why anyway, and I disagree. Moreover, in the series, Charles, embodied Dominic Westthree centimeters shorter than me!

With Dior, of which you are the jewelry muse, have you found clothes and sets that match your look?
The Dior look suits me perfectly. It’s a very sophisticated mix of softness and femininity, with this little gothic side that the artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, knew how to breathe into certain pieces. As for the world of jewelry created by Victoire de Castellane, it is quite simply magical: poetic, refined and theatrical all at the same time. I like his work around the Dior rose, sublimated in pieces of great delicacy or, on the contrary, limitless exuberance. I love Victoire’s creative excess. I have a special connection with jewelry. I am very sentimental. A jewel always reminds me of a person. When traveling, to be closer to my mother or my sister, I wear a jewel that they gave me.

Read alsoDior Print, the perfect match between Victoire de Castellane and Maria Grazia Chiuri

For you, a career must support good causes. Which ones do you defend?
I belong to an association called Women for Women International. She sets up very simple and exportable projects all over the world in order to help women in difficulty. She allocates them a little money so that they create a small agricultural or craft activity. I went to Kosovo and Rwanda to see the effectiveness of these achievements, and I was very impressed.

You play both in blockbusters and in auteur films. How do you reconcile these two worlds?
They are two different experiences, by their nature and by their scale. One, more intimate and more peaceful, gives more freedom insofar as auteur films are not subject to the diktat of profitability. The other is a big, well-oiled machine that leaves little room for improvisation, but it’s still a fun experience, both to play and to watch afterwards for the audience. We all need to escape from reality sometimes.

Who are your role models in life?
Those who get by, who have the ability to lead a life with grace, intelligence and energy. I think of Cate Blanchett and Isabelle Huppert, my two models, women who work hard and are not afraid of risk. You have to see them during rehearsals! I played The good ones, by Jean Genet, on stage, with them. They are focused, diligent, humble, fear no criticism, know how to listen, are benevolent towards each other.

You choose to play strong women…
It’s a part of me. I like women like Jordan Baker, in The Great Gatsby, who are fearless but also know how to show their weaknesses and say without shame what they want and what they need.