Meghan Markle has been in the public eye for quite some time, but the former Suits actress reached a whole new level of notoriety when she began dating Prince Harry. Given that she’s now the Duchess of Sussex, Markle herself is now fair game to be portrayed by actresses in various forms of media. Of course, she’s well aware of that fact and isn’t entirely opposed to it. On that note, she has some advice for any big Hollywood stars who end up playing her on screen one day.
You can only imagine how much pressure one might feel if they had to step into the shoes of someone as recognizable as Meghan Markle. There’s plenty to consider, as said star(s) would want to make sure that they’re not simply doing an impersonation but creating a layered individual for the screen. When speaking about actresses who may play her down the road, Markle listed a few of the traits she’d hope any of them would seek to capture in their performance:
I hope that in preparing for that role, she finds the softness and the playfulness and the laughter. The silliness. I just hope she finds the dimensions. Also, she can call me!
Those are actually pretty helpful hints she shared with Variety, and that last offer she made is pretty generous. While some actors may opt not to reach out to the real-life people they portray in order to maintain some kind of distance, I’m sure others would relish the opportunity to speak with them. Plus, in the Duchess’ case, she likely understands just how invaluable such a meeting can be, given her professional background. Though she doesn’t seem opposed to anyone playing her, she also admitted that she does have to "compartmentalize" something like that:
I haven’t given that much thought, to be honest. It’s all weird. You have to compartmentalize. Anyone talking about me or casting an actor to play me, that will be a caricature of me that has been created for a business that makes people a lot of money. Once you can separate that out, it’s much easier to go: ‘OK. That actually has nothing to do with me.’ It genuinely doesn’t. It’s a hard lesson to come to grips with.
As of this writing, Meghan Markle has already been fictionalized in a few notable productions. The first of those was the 2018 Lifetime movie Harry and Meghan: A Royal Romance. In 2019, the small-screen special was followed by a sequel, Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal, which left Markle’s father mad. There’s also 2021’s Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace (which is available to stream with a Hulu subscription). But Netflix’s The Crown won’t cover Markle and Prince Harry. Showrunner Peter Morgan has already said that his acclaimed drama won’t reach the events of their courtship by the time it ends.
While she’s no longer acting herself, Meghan Markle has taken on other Hollywood gigs. Her presence at high-profile premieres would also indicate that she still checks out new movies and TV shows in her spare time. Whether or not she’s seen the TV movies centered on her life is unclear but, at the very least, any major star who plays her moving forward can take heart in the fact that she’s available for advice.
