Emma Corrin on Diana, Marvel Villain Role, and Existential Crisis

Emma Corrin asks if I’m familiar with the concept of the Saturn return, the theory that in our late 20s we experience a period of transition and personal growth. I’ve heard of it, I say. “It’s a realigning of what you want to do and who you are,” says the actor, who is 28. “I think I’m in the middle of it. This year, I feel like I am going mad. I start to doubt everything – what I’m doing with my work, who I am as a person. Am I a good enough friend? Partner? Actor? It feels like an existential crisis.”

Corrin sits across from me in a pink-tiled cafe in Margate, Kent. Despite not wearing a jacket in the cooler-than-expected seaside weather and speaking quickly, Corrin shows no outward signs of crisis. Their gamine beauty is enhanced by a spot sticker under their fringe, and they can lock eye contact fiercely even while talking about insecurity. They love fashion (and are the face of Miu Miu) but are happy to wear the same thing daily, like the soft cotton red shirt and old jeans they’re wearing now.

In Margate, Corrin, who uses they/them pronouns but is forgiving of slips, tries to make me understand the significance of the Saturn return in their life right now. “I downloaded this astrology app called The Pattern. It’s really spot on. It literally said word for word what I was feeling. It’s mad.”

I say I think I’ve experienced something similar. However, I wonder if Corrin’s palpable trepidation might be linked to their career. Since portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, in Netflix’s “The Crown,” Corrin’s career has rapidly ascended. Their roles include a sumptuous Lady Chatterley and a sophisticated portrayal opposite Harry Styles in My Policeman. Later this month, they’ll star alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in the new Marvel film, Deadpool & Wolverine. “Huge change” aptly sums it up. Are they prepared for that level of fame? “It is very much in the abstract,” Corrin says quickly. “I’m probably living in denial.”

We can’t discuss much about the film due to NDA constraints, but briefly, Deadpool is a satirical superhero who breaks the fourth wall. Corrin’s initial thrill at being offered the part of Cassandra Nova was dampened when director Shawn Levy said, “We want you not to play her as a villain.” Levy saw Corrin’s ability to play something subtler than an off-the-peg villain. What he wanted was unpredictability. Corrin’s references for the part included Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and Christoph Waltz’s portrayal of a Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds.

Corrin began shaving their scalp for the bald cap to fit snugly, which “wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” They found it liberating, doing it whenever they could. Once, they blew a fuse in a hotel in Italy while using clippers, causing a power outage. Today, their hair is cropped and a little bed-flattened (we met for breakfast). Corrin frequently uses a range of facial expressions to convey emotions during our conversation.

Corrin is in Margate with friends and prefers not to discuss their partner, the actor Rami Malek. They love Margate because no one recognizes them or if they do, they’re not bothered. They have become friends with the artist Tracey Emin, Margate’s homegrown queen. Emin visited Corrin’s house in London, which was filled with her prints, and was pleased with what she saw.

Ordinarily, Corrin is based in Hampstead in west London, flat-sharing with three friends, including a political journalist. They also have a cockapoo named Spencer. Despite their rising fame, Corrin insists on maintaining an unstarry existence, with most of their friends not being actors. They talk about music festivals, attempts to crack the Rubik’s Cube, and how they almost succeeded but someone else scrambled it again.

Corrin was once a cold-water dipper at Hampstead ponds but hasn’t kept it up. “I needed the shock of it when going through a lot at one point. Now, just the idea of being cold – I’m too tired.” They still use the Parliament Hill lido for a hot shower because their boiler keeps breaking.

Corrin was an “unknown” in acting terms when called in for a “chemistry reading” during the search for someone to play Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown. They were asked to read for Diana as well and eight months later, got the role. Corrin perfected Diana’s voice by rehearsing with their mother, a speech therapist.

They have previously described the attention the role brought as a “poisoned chalice,” “grim,” “inescapable,” and “overwhelming.” They recalled a scene where actual paparazzi were filming alongside actors playing press, creating a weird double world.

Since then, Corrin’s young adulthood has been spent moving from set to set while also working out aspects of their gender identity, coming out as non-binary in 2021. They described their identity as an embrace of many different parts of themselves.

We return to the subject of change when Corrin tries to persuade me they have “second puberty” acne. Their skin looks like glass, owing to their skincare routine and an amazing dermatologist.

Hormones bring up the subject of children, which is “probably” related to “this biological shift,” but not something Corrin has thought about “hugely.” They’d like to write a children’s book, “probably not under my name.” Talking about children leads to the state of the world and the fear of bringing up a child in it. Corrin questions if every generation has thought the world was ending.

Corrin has always been a worrier. They prepared for floods as a child, building forts of their stuff under the living-room table. Today, they feel the threat to civilization more keenly. With so many urgent and catastrophic issues, it’s impossible to know what to fight for.

Social media especially feels like a swamp. They worry about how to protect any future children from its potential harm. Corrin’s relationship with social media is conflicted. They want to step away from Instagram but know it can be a space for connecting, especially around topics related to gender.

Corrin recounts how young people have thanked them for inspiring them or helping them come out to their parents. Parents of non-binary or trans children have also expressed gratitude. This makes it hard for Corrin to leave social media, even though it makes them anxious.

They want to be authentic on social media but find the platform itself inauthentic. This creates a conflicted relationship. They want to be a good role model but fear being constrained by one self portrayed on the platform. “I always thought when you reach 25, you’re done. But now I think you’re never finished. That excites me. People constantly change, and it never stops. You’re always questioning, growing, falling in and out of love. That’s beautiful.”

A seagull pads into the cafe, and Corrin greets it with childlike delight. They’ve always been obsessed with animals, having grown up in Kent with two brothers. The family split their time between Kent and South Africa, where their mother is from and where their father worked as a businessman.

Corrin describes their mother as a “child whisperer,” spinning endless stories and worlds. They were convinced fairies existed, encouraged by their mother’s creativity. Corrin would write daily to these fairies until one day, their mother ended the fantasy with a goodbye note from the fairies.

Four years ago, Corrin had a revelation about their relationship with their parents, seeing them as people with faults and insecurities. This shift made them friends in a new way, filled with openness and respect. Their mother encouraged them to create narratives for people they saw in airports, which Corrin wrote in exercise books.

Corrin always loved acting. In primary school, they were praised for their role as Toad in The Wind in the Willows and told they could be an actor. “It was a perfect complement of imagination and feeling like I was entertaining people. It was absorbing and escapist.” They briefly wanted to be a marine biologist but are afraid of the sea.

I ask if Corrin was a happy child. “I found ways to be happy but those ways were not in the real world.” Their therapist once said, “It’s no surprise you do what you do. You don’t have to be yourself; you can be anyone else.” They laugh, saying it was savage for a therapist.

Does Corrin think their therapist is saying they’re uncomfortable with being themselves? “No. There’s some refuge in telling other people’s stories when you’re still making sense of your own. My therapist is probably spot on.”

Corrin recounts how director Michael Grandage reassured them during “My Policeman,” amazed at how present they were when the camera rolled. Corrin agrees, saying they struggle with life generally but find acting easy.

Dark times stem from insecurity, expectation, fame, loneliness, and loss. Recently, Corrin has decided to choose roles more carefully, focusing on quality over quantity. They’ve always been a work, work, work person but now want to slow down and be selective.

Corrin believes the film industry can be demanding, taking advantage unless one sets clear boundaries. They struggle with being assertive because they have the anxiety of letting people down.

As we finish, Corrin reflects on being in a massive period of change and growth. It’s exciting to question and be uncertain, knowing they will come out with a new semblance of who they are. They laugh but with a hint of dread. According to The Pattern app, their Saturn return won’t end until next spring.

Deadpool & Wolverine is out in cinemas on 25 July in the UK.

Source: The Guardian