GHOSTLY ADVICE
Helena’s psyched for The Crown
THE STAR CONSULTED SPIRITS FOR HER CROWN ROLE
Helena Bonham Carter has always been, er, wonderfully quirky. It seems the lauded actress has stayed true to form as it’s emerged the star “gained permission” from the late Princess Margaret to play her in the upcoming third season of The Crown.
Sources on the set of the hit drama, which streams on Netflix on November 17, claim Helena (53) ‘made contact’ with the Queen’s sister, who passed away in 2002, via a medium who told her Margaret was happy for the eccentric Englishwoman to portray her on-screen, taking over from Vanessa Kirby (31).
“Helena was just a fledgling movie star when she and Margaret met at a royal movie premiere and the fact she made such an impact on her made it especially important to get her blessing,” the insider tells.
“But she got much more, including little acting tips, such as using her cigarette and cigarette holder. She even passed on her advice to cast and crew whenever there was a query regarding the princess. Helena would reassure them, ‘Margaret says that’s alright.’”
While liaising with a psychic might be a bit on the extreme side, Helena, who has previously portrayed Margaret’s mum, the Queen
Mother, in The
King’s Speech, is a renowned method actor who vigorously prepares for every role she takes – she spent three weeks in
‘wand school’ for her turn as Bellatrix
Lestrange in the Harry
Potter series and read the entire works of Jane
Goodall before signing on to Planet of the Apes.
“But that’s what I love doing,” she tells. “You have to be open
to everything else and then learn your lines. And then you root it in physical stuff, like costume, teeth and wardrobe.”
The “naturally spiritual” actress, who’s mum to kids Billy (15) and Neil (10), her children with former partner Tim Burton (61), has been reaching out to psychics for years, and just sees it as an in-depth look into the people she’s trying to portray.
“She always likes to research her roles and is always prepared to go that extra mile,” says the insider. “So if that means using someone with supernatural powers to speak to a character on the other side, then Helena has no problems doing that.”
And joining her and Olivia Colman (45), who takes over the Queen’s crown from Claire Foy (35), will be The X-Files star Gillian Anderson (51), who will suit up as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season of the show, and is about to start work on-set.
“It’s very helpful for an actor to slightly fall in love with the character you’re playing,” says Gillian. “So I have.”