Naomi Watts: Playing Princess Diana Was "High Pressure"

USMagazine, Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 6:30pm (PST)

With Kate Middleton's pregnancy woes stealing the spotlight, Naomi Watts should be feeling a little less stress about her upcoming role as Middleton's late mother-in-law Princess Diana in biopic "Diana." 

But not so, "The Impossible”" actress told Ellen DeGeneres Tuesday.

Watts, 44, said that she felt "high pressure" playing the iconic British royal because people the world over "all feel we know [Diana] so well."

PHOTOS: Kate Middleton vs. Princess Diana

In fact, Watts told the talk show host, she debated for the longest time about whether or not to take on the part when she was first approached.

"I tried to say no, but I guess every time I said no, I rang back up and said, 'I've changed my mind,'" she explained.

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The British-Australian actress previously revealed her intense preparations for the role, including six weeks of dialogue training, four wigs and a prosthetic nose, Celebuzz reports.

It was, Watts admitted in an interview with Manhattan magazine earlier this year, one of the "hardest things" she’s ever done.

"I don't want to get caught up in mimicry - that's the worst thing," she told the magazine at the time. "I was to try to embody her and get the essence of her. Those things are really important to me."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Naomi Watts: Playing Princess Diana Was "High Pressure"