Imelda Staunton on her newest challenge and what surprised her about playing Elizabeth II
Imelda Staunton is musing on what it was like playing the late Queen in the last two series of The Crown. “For the better part of three years, I was inhabiting someone real in a true story that was serious and challenging.”
What gave proceedings an added poignancy was the death of Her Majesty on September 8, 2022. “We’d resumed filming,” recalls Imelda, 68, “and very soon after, the Queen died, so it was difficult. We carried on with as much dignity and grace as everyone always had done but, obviously, there was a very different atmosphere in the world and on set.
“We just had to carry on as before, but we were all a bit sad. I think it inevitably informed the temperature, if you like, rather than altered the material at all. But, there’s no doubt, it was different.”
Having lived through the Queen’s reign, Imelda was well aware of each twist and turn in the royal story. But was there anything she discovered that came as a surprise?
“Yes, I didn’t realise, or think about, how much her faith meant to her. That was an element I clung on to quite firmly and it helped me with her ability to be very still and thoughtful. I realised her strength came from her faith.”
Period dramas have been a firm fixture of the actress’ life in recent years, as she was, of course, a favourite in Downton Abbey, where she played Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting in both films (alongside husband Jim Carter’s Mr Carson). Excitingly, she also recently confirmed during an interview that a third film is in the works too. Although, sadly, reports suggest her character won’t be returning – perhaps not surprisingly with her busy schedule!
She is now immersing herself in a different project: the title role in a production of Hello, Dolly! for a season running at the London Palladium from July 6 to September 14 after a gestation period that makes the average elephant pregnancy seem swift by comparison.
Originally planned to for 2020, the show was delayed by the pandemic and
The Crown’s shooting schedule. “To get my teeth into something joyful is exhilarating,” she says.
The musical is based on Thornton Wilder’s story, The Matchmaker, about a widow pondering how to get on with her life. It has, says director Dominic Cooke, a similar relationship to Dolly that Pygmalion has to My Fair Lady.
“Hello, Dolly!’ is known as this glitzy, showy piece,” Cooke says, “but I’ve always thought there’s much more to it because it’s about a woman coming back to life after grief. She asks herself, ‘Do I have the energy to go a second round?’ I think there’s something pro
