Surrounded by burly policemen, minders and pushy photographers, Marilyn Monroe is an image of aloof glamour amongst the bustle. In this newly released image, Michelle Williams is a doppelgänger for the icon as she recreates Monroe's arrival in London in 1956 to film Laurence Olivier's The Prince and the Showgirl.
Clutching a bouquet of flowers with her husband Arthur Miller, played by Dougray Scott, trailing in her wake, the actress is escorted away from the excited British journalists. Williams' hair has been swept into Monroe's trademark platinum curls and she wears a clingy silver dress and oversize black sunglasses.
The actress said last year that she was terrified of taking on the role, and initially turned down director David Parfitt's offer. ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist, eventually,' she told the Mail's Baz Bamigboye. 'Physically and vocally, everything about her is different from me. My Week with Marilyn is based on Colin Clark's memoirs which detail his assignment to take care of the actress during her time in London shooting the film. 'I’ve kind of gone to school and had teachers to help me understand Marilyn, so I could project an essence of her,' Williams, 30, said. ‘When I first approached the part, I thought that there were three, even four parts to Marilyn,’ she added.
‘It rearranges you, it shifts your molecules, lifts you up, spins you around, puts you back down and you’re not quite the same, for better or for worse,’ she said.
During filming, Michelle revealed that playing one of the world's best-loved stars had a lasting affect on her. ‘At a certain point, something else does take over. I don’t quite feel myself these days,’ Williams said at the time.
My Week with Marilyn, which is released on November 4, also stars Judi Dench as Sybil Thorndike, Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh, Dominic Cooper as Monroe's manager Milton Greene, and Emma Watson as wardrobe assistant Lucy.
Clutching a bouquet of flowers with her husband Arthur Miller, played by Dougray Scott, trailing in her wake, the actress is escorted away from the excited British journalists. Williams' hair has been swept into Monroe's trademark platinum curls and she wears a clingy silver dress and oversize black sunglasses.
The actress said last year that she was terrified of taking on the role, and initially turned down director David Parfitt's offer. ‘I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist, eventually,' she told the Mail's Baz Bamigboye. 'Physically and vocally, everything about her is different from me. My Week with Marilyn is based on Colin Clark's memoirs which detail his assignment to take care of the actress during her time in London shooting the film. 'I’ve kind of gone to school and had teachers to help me understand Marilyn, so I could project an essence of her,' Williams, 30, said. ‘When I first approached the part, I thought that there were three, even four parts to Marilyn,’ she added.
‘It rearranges you, it shifts your molecules, lifts you up, spins you around, puts you back down and you’re not quite the same, for better or for worse,’ she said.
During filming, Michelle revealed that playing one of the world's best-loved stars had a lasting affect on her. ‘At a certain point, something else does take over. I don’t quite feel myself these days,’ Williams said at the time.
My Week with Marilyn, which is released on November 4, also stars Judi Dench as Sybil Thorndike, Julia Ormond as Vivien Leigh, Dominic Cooper as Monroe's manager Milton Greene, and Emma Watson as wardrobe assistant Lucy.
