Yahoo News The Secret to Portraying Kate Middleton? It’s All About Confidence
Most stories that begin with “saw something on Twitter” don’t end well.
But for Meg Bellamy, the actress who’ll make her debut playing Kate Middleton on Netflix’s “The Crown” December 14, a social media post about an open call audition became a life-changing experience.
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“I was a big fan of the show at the time,” the newbie actress, who didn’t even have an agent when she saw the post, told IndieWire. “I just thought, ‘Nothing to lose! I’m going to apply!’ And as soon as I applied, my neighbor actually texted me and said, ‘You should apply for this.'”
One might assume that if random neighbors are telling you to throw your hat in the ring, Bellamy’s resemblance to the future Princess of Wales was often remarked upon, but she says it was never mentioned to her. The parallels only became obvious when the audition process began — the first round of which was simply stating your name and a few sentences on camera to gauge similarities.
It was a months-long process to get the part, and after she was cast, she needed to keep mum around friends for another month or so before the news officially broke. During that time, Bellamy wanted to immerse herself in all things Kate, but discovered there is actually relatively little to study when compared with older generations of Windsors. She remembered watching the 2011 wedding with her mother, but, after all, the public never even heard Middleton speak until her engagement interview. What Bellamy zeroed in on is how quietly confident Middleton appears in all kinds of high-pressure situations.
“I think she just really knows herself, which gives her this air of comfort,” Bellamy said. “I think she’s very rarely flustered, and you see, when she interacts with people, nothing seems to faze her. And I think that’s just because she enjoys speaking to people and she’s very good at it and she’s good at connecting with people. That was an incredibly useful energy to have with me on set and during the scenes but also [one] I took with me into my own life.”
Filming the lush “The Crown” — where fans pore over the gossip and backstory and facts — is a unique experience even among TV vets, but for Bellamy, it was doubly nerve-wracking because this will essentially be the first stab at telling Middleton’s story in a scripted series (especially if you don’t count cheesy Lifetime movies).
“There’s definitely pressure in play[ing] a real character,” Bellamy said. “But I think if anything the lack of other variations of Kate was probably quite helpful. I feel like I maybe would have compared myself, but I didn’t really have anyone to compare it to. So that was quite nice.”
On the docket for big early moments in the life of Kate Middleton recreated for “The Crown”? It’s all about St. Andrews. The filming experience got “real surreal” once they started filming at the university Kate and Will (Ed McVey) attended, which forms the basis of Episode 7 this season, depicting the two’s first run-ins and the excitement of Will being among regular students.
“I really loved filming at St. Andrews,” she said. “[I] just felt really kind of close to them [here] and special. We’re, like, filming on the street that they lived on. The bulletproof windows are still there! There was a strange kind of magic to that…. Crazy in many different ways. You’re walking past a cafe, and it’s where Kate met Will for coffee.”
Royal watchers’ ears probably perked up that — for those that follow such things, St. Andrews is synonymous with early love story moments such as the duo winding up in the same dorm (fate!) or a charity fashion show Kate walked in with one very infamous dress. (Don’t worry, “The Crown” absolutely puts its spin on that.)
Those known moments are depicted, and then fictionally fleshed out with imagined convos between Kate and her mother, or Kate and Will having a library showdown over a past girlfriend. There’s even a big rager! (“A recipe for chaos,” Bellamy noted with a laugh.)
“You’re quick to be reminded of the scale of the show and the fans,” Bellamy said about filming with paps watching every move. “So it’s kind of daunting and I hope that people like it and feel I’ve done Kate justice because it’s very important to me.”
With all those eyeballs on the ending of Netflix’s megahit, the actress is sure to have her pick of projects for whatever is next. Her dream? “I’d love to build momentum and would love to be in what I’d like to watch. I love comedy and psychological thrillers. …The first comedy that comes to my mind is ‘We’re the Millers.’ It’s just so good.”
Paging Jason Sudeikis.
“The Crown” Season 6 Part 2 debuts December 14 on Netflix.
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