Gal Gadot channeled real-life royalty when she was getting ready to portray Diana “Wonder Woman” Prince.
The Israeli actor, who has played the DC Comics superhero since 2016, revealed this week that her performance was largely inspired by another Diana ― namely, the late Princess Diana of Wales.
“I remember watching a documentary about Princess Diana,” Gal said in a virtual chat with Vanity Fair for the publication’s Cocktail Hour Live! event.
“There was a part where they say that she was full of compassion and she always cared for the people, and that was like, ‘Ding-ding-ding.’ That should be the Wonder Woman that we have.”
“I wanted to portray a character that people will be inspired by, but also be able to relate to,” she continued. “I wanted to show her vulnerabilities and heart.”
The revelation is certain to lend new meaning to Gal’s scenes in films like Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 and, most recently, Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Though Princess Diana died in a 1997 car crash, her influence across pop culture is perhaps stronger than ever.
In February, actor Emma Corrin won an Emmy for her portrayal of Diana in the Netflix series The Crown. A forthcoming feature film, Spencer, will star Kristen Stewart as the late royal. And later this year, Diana’s story will come to Broadway in a new musical, Diana, which will also be filmed for a Netflix release.
Interestingly, the late princess of Wales isn’t the only public figure whose essence can be felt in the Wonder Woman franchise.
Last year, director Patty Jenkins confirmed that Maxwell Lord, the greasy villain of Wonder Woman 1984, was inspired in part by former President Donald Trump and disgraced financier Bernie Madoff, who died Wednesday.
“Trump’s definitely one of the people that we looked at,” Patty said of the character, played by Pedro Pascal.
“But it’s any of those kind of mavericks of business success that was big in the ’80s [and] went on to be major players in our world in potentially questionable other ways.”