Emma Corrin has said they feel like they are going through an “existential crisis” as they are doubting who they are and their career.
The 28-year-old actor shot to fame starring as Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of The Crown in 2020, winning a Golden Globe for their performance.
They have since starred on stage and screen including in the 2022 romantic dramas, My Policeman, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and the 2023 thriller miniseries, A Murder At The End Of The World.
Corrin feels taking on these different characters has helped them escape from their own mind amid the major life changes they have undergone in recent years.
They told the Guardian’s Saturday Magazine: “I feel like I am going mad this year. Like, I’m starting to doubt everything – what I’m doing with my work, who I am as a person.
“Am I a good enough friend? Am I good enough partner? Am I a good enough actor? Am I doing the right thing?
“And suddenly all these questions have descended, and the ground that I’m standing on is so unstable and it feels like such an existential crisis.”
Corrin, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them, said they feel they will continue to change over the years after previously thinking they would be confirmed in who they are by their mid twenties.
The actor added: “Now I think you’re never finished. And that excites me.
“That’s what I find interesting about writing and storytelling: that people are constantly changing and it never stops.
“You are always questioning everything, changing, growing, insecure, falling in love, out of love, like it’s endless. And that’s beautiful.”
Corrin revealed that their therapist once told them that it makes sense that they went into acting as it allows them to not be themselves, briefly.
“I think it just means that there’s some refuge in telling other people’s stories when you’re still trying to make sense of your own”, they added.
“I guess it is why people escape into writing or painting. It’s a way to express stuff and live in a world that’s not necessarily you.”
Corrin’s star is set to rise further after their performance in the upcoming superhero blockbuster, Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.
Asked if they are prepared for the new level of fame, they said: “It is very much in the abstract. I’m probably living in denial.”
After being offered many scripts since rising to fame, Corrin said they are now being more selective of what projects they take on.
They said: “You feel like you should say yes to all of it. And I think it’s taken me a minute to realise that actually you don’t have to.
“And that it’s better to be more selective and to do those things justice. I’ve always been quite a work, work, work person.
“I think I’ve hit a point where I actually just want to slow down a bit and really choose carefully and specifically, and do one or two great things a year, not four.”
