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Im feeling it too.
We can feel it together.
She made her mom take pictures of us, and she sent me the pictures.
I put one on Instagram, because of course I was really honored!
And then I get a message from someone on the show going like, We havent announced it yet.
So Im like, Oh no, what do I do?!
Theyre like, Dont say anything else!
Everyone kept asking me and I had to be cheeky about it.
But it was fine, she was announced a few months later.
Did you offer any advice about playing Margaret?
Mainly weve been discussing her essence, really.
You have to find the spirit of who they really are.
Helena has totally gone for it that way, I can tell.
Shes really tried to capture the essence of Margaret, rather than copy me.
Not that she would anyway.
Her process is very much similar to mine.
She asks for my playlists, my scripts, my notes.
We just text about our love for Margaret nonstop, little anecdotes and stories like that.
Did you create playlists based on Margarets music tastes?Exactly.
Her favorite songs were, like, Scotland the Brave on the bagpipes.
From what she described, I downloaded all of her favorite music.
I had a big playlist Id play in the makeup trailer in the morning, or at my house.
My poor sister who lives with me had to put up with so many bagpipes.
I wanted to immerse myself in her world and what she loved, more than anything.
He was everything to her.
I understood the nature of their relationship.
But at the end of the first season, shes left with such a wound.
Shes genuinely worried for herself and her fantasy, and the road she knows she cant go down.
In some way, losing Peter was like losing her father again.
So, she meets Tony when this wound is incredibly raw.
It becomes toxic and intoxicating and dynamic and exhilarating.
That was my goal, to confirm the romance of Tony came out of pain.
What was shooting that like?
It played out like a beautiful dance.
Even with her outfit, I got so specific and anal about it.
This is her seduction outfit!
This is what she spends half of the episode in!
She cares so much about clothes, and how she represents herself is always through her clothes.
It was magical to shoot.
I felt like a deer in headlights.
For Margaret and Tony, its the first place where shes truly felt out of her depth.
Shes never really been in a space where she doesnt know how to be.
Tony doesnt want any of those things.
Tonys like,I dont want any of those things.
I want you to forget the title, the privileges, I just want you to be you.
It was stripping the layers of the princess off and seeing who was underneath.
Someone, for the first time, wanted to know her and not Princess Margaret.
So much of her identity is already projected upon her and objectified in many ways.
That song is my and my boyfriends favorite song in real life.
That day when we were shooting, Im darting around and undressing in front of the whole crew.
It suddenly became a popular song again.
Youve talked a lot about the research you conducted to embody Margaret.
Her life in the clubs in London.
The designers were obsessed with her.
She had a lot of American friends, American showgirls.
She loved the theater.
She always dreamed of becoming a ballerina herself.
I wanted people to see her wild life outside of the palace.
But yeah, her life in London and how that exploded out of the palace wouldve been great.
Matthew and I wouldve loved to have more of that.
One of the biggest stories that emerged from the shows second season wasthe gender pay gap.
Its incited a change in her and all of us.
The best thing about it is now the conversation is open and its less likely to happen again.
Hopefully, this will impact other sectors and industries that dont get the media coverage.
If Angelina Jolie or Gwyneth Paltrow talk about these issues, people are reading about it.
I hope we can be the instigator of change.
Im sure Claire felt like that too.
I was surprised how openly the producers admitted the disparity, and how they assured it wont happen again.
You dont see that level of candor a lot.Im so glad you said that.
Suzanne [Mackie], the producer, is the most amazing woman.
What she did was actually begin the conversation that was so essential.
I think that itll help a lot of people.
It wasnt comparable with Claires issue.
For all women as much as possible.
Yeah, whether someones market value is a justifiable argument to be made or not.
Even if Claire wasnt too well known in America at the time, shewasthe crown.Totally.
Also, I think its about people getting conscious and mindful of the norms and questioning them.
Trying to do things differently.
Having a commitment to change.
We have to really fight for that representation on screen now.
I felt so blessed to find Margaret in that way.
No, I dont know!
Youll have to ask Helena that.
Maybe shell have someone good for you.
Im very excited and totally envious to see who will be cast next.
It was the happiest time of my life.
It was just a dream come true from start to finish.
Ill miss it forever.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
