The role Helena Bonham Carter played because a ghost told her to: “You’re not going to say no”
Helena Bonham Carter has always been delightfully strange and authentic, never conforming to the restrictive ideals of celebrity and remaining unapologetically herself. Naturally, this has been reflected in her film roles over the years, frequently inhabiting the weird worlds of Tim Burton and Harry Potter while also taking on lead roles in the works of James Ivory and David Fincher.
Her filmography is as varied and eclectic as her personality, with a distinct quirkiness that translates across each role while still adapting to the world she steps into. Whether it’s the unruly nature of Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View or the chaotic energy of Marla Singer in Fight Club, Bonham Carter has made her mark by portraying eccentric and dark women throughout her career.
However, while she rose to prominence for these more unconventional figures in recent years, she originally found fame through her collaborations with James Ivory, capturing the stiff and proper attitudes of the English elite, something that she later came to reprise after being given approval from the ghost of an English princess.
The Crown is one of the most successful television shows in recent years, following the rise and fall of the royal family through an ever-changing cast of British actors. Some of the greatest performers from the country have found fame through their roles on the show, such as Josh O’Connor, Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman, with the royal family neither confirming nor denying the truthfulness of the storylines, leaving many audiences wondering about the true goings-on and dramas within the palace.
Bonham Carter was one of many actors to put her own stamp on The Crown, portraying Princess Margaret in the third and fourth seasons, taking over from Vanessa Kirby, who had played the younger version of the character. Many would be rightly intimidated by such a role—not only based on a real-life figure but a member of royalty. However, Bonham Carter received confirmation that it was the right decision not from anyone alive, but from the ghost of Princess Margaret herself.
Bonham Carter explained: “I did meet a psychic, who’s a friend of mine, and I was seeing her. She does healing. She does other things, but she also has a talent for mediumship and as I was seeing her for something else, she said, ‘Oh, Margaret is here. Does that mean anything?’ and I said, ‘Yes, it does.'”
The actor then explained that she was being considered for the role of someone called Margaret, saying, “I said, ‘Well, yeah… If you’ve got the horse’s mouth in the room, you’re not going to say no. ‘I said, ‘Yeah’ and I asked, ‘Would you mind if I played you?’ She did say, ‘I think you’re a better idea than the other actor.’ They never told me the other possibility.”
“It was a very typical Margaret thing, she had a way of sometimes complimenting you and putting you down at the same time. And the fact that she said, ‘Oh yeah, I think that you’re better than the other.’ It’s like you never knew where you were with her.”
While this could perhaps be considered as a backhanded way of saying that neither person should play her in the show, Bonham Carter took it as a symbol of her blessing to continue with the work, and it seems as though she was not visited by the ghost again to be told differently.
