‘The Crown’ Casts Khalid Abdalla to Play Princess Diana’s Boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed

The Crown has found the actor who will portray Princess Diana’s tragic boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed in the upcoming fifth season.

According to Variety, The Kite Runner star Khalid Abdalla will play Dodi, the Egyptian film producer and department store heir who died alongside Diana in the car crash in Paris in 1997. Abdalla will star opposite Tenet actress Elizabeth Debicki, who takes over the role from Emma Corrin, who played a young Diana in Season 4.

Israeli-born actor Salim Daw, known for Oslo, The Bureau and Fauda, also joins Netflix’s royal family drama as Dodi’s billionaire father, the former Harrods owner Mohammed Al-Fayed.

Dodi, an executive producer on films such as Chariots of Fire, Breaking Glass, and Hook, became romantically involved with the Princess of Wales in the summer of 1997. The relationship sparked a media frenzy, with paparazzi routinely pursuing the couple. After vacationing together in the French and Italian Rivieras in August 97, the pair stopped in Paris en route to London, where they died in a car crash while being chased by paparazzi.

The Crown producers have not yet said whether or not the crash will be depicted on screen. However, based on the recent casting, it is reasonable to expect at least part of the season will focus on the final years of Diana’s life.

Abdalla, who rose to prominence in the BAFTA-winning docudrama thriller United 93, most recently starred as Jerome Sawyer in the Amazon Prime Video series Hanna. He’s also appeared in the films Green Zone alongside Matt Damon and Our Kind of Traitor opposite Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris.

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Joining Abdalla, Daw, and Debicki in Seasons 5 and 6 are Dominic West (taking over from Josh O’Connor) as Prince Charles, Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, and Lesley Manville as the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret.

The Crown, Season 5, TBA, Netflix