August 31st marks the anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. In spite of the 19 years that have elapsed since her death, her legacy remains intact. She is remembered as a woman who supported many charity organizations globally and who touched the lives of so many people.
Although her work with charities made her public life a success, her private life was a different matter as Princess Diana experienced many personal troubles, especially after divorcing Prince Charles. But instead of cracking and falling apart, she used fame and the media to her advantage to promote awareness for her causes: AIDS, leprosy, cancer, and homelessness are but a few of the many issues Diana became involved with. She worked closely with those suffering from AIDs and proved her passion and conviction by appearing on television while holding hands with an AIDS sufferer.
Naveen Andrews as Dr. Hasnat Khan and Naomi Watts as Diana.
The movie Diana portrays the life of the princess after her controversial divorce with Prince Charles, with Oscar nominee Naomi Watts starring as Diana. Determined to play the part to the best of her abilities, the then-44-year-old actress watched videos of her many times to prepare for the role. Watts confessed that she became somewhat obsessed with Diana’s televised interview that was conducted by Martin Bashir; even watching the interview whilst out running. The interview helped Watts to understand Diana’s personality and to learn some of her expressions and mannerisms.
Watts has admitted that playing Diana has been her toughest challenge to date.
Watts, who was nominated at the Oscars for her performances in 21 Grams and The Impossible, admitted that playing Diana was one of the biggest challenges of her career. She also claimed that accepting the role was a difficult decision. As a mother of two boys herself, she was concerned that the movie might distress Prince William and Prince Harry. However, since movies about Diana were going to be made at some point anyway, Naomi Watts decided that this movie was in good hands and the story worth telling, and was confident that the freshness of the movie would surprise many viewers.
