Princess Diana’s former stylist Sam McKnight has revealed on Jonathan Van Ness’ podcast Pretty Curious why he avoids watching portrayals of the late Princess on screen. “There’s so much wrong with those portrayals,” he told JVN. Of the many tidbits provided by McKnight, this article will focus on how close Diana and Sam are.
“His dramatic, imaginary form was difficult to watch on screen,” he said.
McKnight has portrayed Princess Diana in numerous on-screen portrayals, including Netflix’s popular series The Crown and the 2021 film Spencer. He acknowledged that while many people may not spot the inconsistencies, the errors are clearly visible to him because he knew Diana personally. “For most people, they’re not errors because they’re just going by their own perception,” McKnight said. “But because I knew the real person, it just feels like pantomime to me.”
Princess Diana was portrayed by Emma Corrin and later by Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown. Both were critically acclaimed, with Corrin winning a Golden Globe Award and Debicki also earning two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe Award. Still, McKnight believes these interpretations fail to capture who Diana really was.
Over the past few seasons, McKnight has loved Debicki’s portrayal of the role. He also said that Debicki was probably the closest to the real-life Diana and added, “Elizabeth Debicki, I think she did it right, you know. It was as close (as it was on the show).” He further said that while Emma Corrin resembled Princess Diana, “the wigs weren’t that great.”
McKnight first met Princess Diana in 1990 during a British Vogue photoshoot. He was pleased to recall their meeting as disarming, charming and funny. She introduced herself in a very cheerful way: she “extended her hand with a big smile and (said), ‘Hi, I’m Diana. What are we going to do?’ ” This warm and charming first impression left a lasting impression on McKnight.
During the shoot, McKnight and Diana talked about what changes she wanted to make to her hair. She was ready to try something new, and he suggested a bold change. “At the end of the day, when we finished shooting, he said, ‘What would you do to my hair if I said, ‘Do anything?'” McKnight recalled. His proposal included cutting off her perm so she could start fresh with a sleeker style. Diana agreed with him, and left after the change.
This new hairstyle began a seven-year working relationship between McKnight and Diana, which also became iconic. The media’s portrayal of her has been largely influenced by McKnight’s knowledge of her style and personality.
She died in a car accident on August 31, 1997 in Paris, France, at the age of 36. However, even after her untimely death, Diana’s life still holds an impact on people around the world and therefore, it is important to give an accurate portrayal of her life and character by those who knew her well.
According to McKnight’s views, it is difficult to portray real-life people in movies. Even though actors and filmmakers always try their best to depict the real personalities of these iconic people, personal experiences and memories of their friends may point out discrepancies in these portrayals. The complexity of transforming real life into fiction is captured in McKnight’s candid critique; hence, he underlines the need to retain the true essence of such valuable individuals.
Also read: Princess Diana wanted to celebrate ‘her independence’ after divorce with King Charles in 1994: source
