Meghan Markle Shares Advice For Actors Playing Her on Screen: ‘Call Me!’
Meghan Markle might have put her acting career behind her, but she still has a major presence on-screen, as several Lifetime movies have already cast actors as the Duchess of Sussex.
As a member of the British royal family, it stands to reason that Markle would be portrayed on-screen, especially with the success of TV shows such as Netflix’s The Crown. But the former Suits star is still coming to terms with seeing herself portrayed on screen.
In a new interview with Variety, Markle was asked about how she feels seeing actors bring her to life on television. “I haven’t given that much thought, to be honest. It’s all weird,” she said.
“You have to compartmentalize,” she continued. “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.”
Markle has previously been portrayed on TV by the actors Parisa Fitz-Henley, Tiffany Smith, and Sydney Morton in the Lifetime movies Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance, Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal, and, most recently, Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace. And it’s presumed there will be more versions in the future.
In terms of advice for any actor taking on the role, Markle stated, “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.” In addition, she offered them an unexpected opportunity: “Also, she can call me!”
As for Markle’s own acting career, she confirmed that it’s over, at least for now. “No. I’m done,” she said. “I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.” A big part of this is because of the discomfort and anxiety she felt as an actor.
“For me, I had tried for so long to land on a show, filming all these pilots, wondering if they would get picked up,” she explained. “All of Season 1 on Suits, I was convinced I was going to get recast. All the time. It got to a point where the creator was like, ‘Why are you so worried about this?’”
