The Crown's Diana star Elizabeth Debicki originally auditioned for a small role in season 2

Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Diana, Princess of Wales, in season 5 of The Crown, has revealed that she got the role after auditioning for a minor role in season 2. 

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Debicki recalled: "My agent says, 'Would you go in and audition for this one episode, small part, for season two.' So I say, 'I’m not at all physically right for that part. I don’t think I work. I don’t think I want to do that.' And she said, 'Of course you’ve got to just do it because these people are making this amazing TV show.' So I go into this audition and there’s the casting director there and some producers, when I get halfway through the scenes, and it’s a bit like, 'OK, thank you so much for coming,' and I go home with my tail between my legs."

As for what that role was, Debicki doesn't say. However, things turned out better than she could have imagined. "They saw something Diana-y in that audition, which surprised no one more than me when I got the email a few days later. And it was sort of faintly penciling it in like, “We think this might be a good fit and we’ll bring it up in four years’ time,” which in an actor’s life is like an eternity. You’re like, 'Well, I’ll be old then! I want to do it now!' It was very, very loosely on the back burner in my mind. But I’d always hoped that it would come back around, but I didn’t know. And then it did and then I was asked to do it in 2020."

Debicki took over the role from Emma Corrin, who portrayed a younger version of Diana in season 4. The latest season of The Crown also sees Imelda Staunton take over from Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth. The new cast also includes Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles, Jonny Lee Miller as Prime Minister John Major, and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret. 

All episodes of The Crown season 5 are now streaming on Netflix. For more on the fictionalized account of the royal family, check out our guide to the series' upcoming final installment, The Crown season 6.