Meghan Markle’s return to acting in upcoming movie Close Personal Friends shows she is in “fully fledged celebrity mode,” a culture expert told Newsweek.
The Duchess of Sussex will play herself in the Amazon MGM Studios film, which stars Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid and Henry Golding. The news broke initially in The Sun before photographs of Meghan on set were later published by People, who reported she joked about feeling rusty but had clearly rehearsed her role.
Nick Ede, a U.K. based brand and culture expert, told Newsweek: “Meghan is now in fully fledged celebrity mode. You know, she’s off at the Kardashians. She’s at Kris Jenner’s birthday. She’s doing Paris Fashion Week.
“So I think this is in many ways a bit of a next step for her to just see whether there’s a bit of appetite for her to be back acting.”
Why It Matters
It comes after Meghan ruled out a return to acting in a 2022 interview with Variety, in which she said: “No. I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.”
That interview was before the release of Meghan and Prince Harry’s first Netflix project, Harry & Meghan, and the prince’s book Spare, which both leveled major allegations at the royal family but also led to a sharp decline in the couple’s U.S. popularity.
The two projects marked the end of the era in which Harry and Meghan fought a media war against the palace and members of Harry’s family. In the aftermath, they have been on a search for a new relationship with their audience.
Meghan Markle’s Acting Return
Among Meghan’s new projects have been the Netflix lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, her online shop As Ever and a recent appearance at Paris Fashion Week.
Meghan and Harry were also seen at Kris Jenner’s James Bond themed 70th birthday party, in Beverly Hills, on November 8, a rare A-list networking moment for them. The return to acting therefore takes Meghan deeper back into the mix in Hollywood.
Afua Hagan, a U.K. based royal commentator, told Newsweek: “She’s returning to her comfort zone, her wheelhouse, this is a cameo in a film with Brie Larson and Henry Golding. I think it’ll be fun… why not?
“She’s dipping her toe in to see how she feels about being back on set, see what the reaction’s like. But she has a portfolio career, right? So I think this is just part of it, something fun to do. I think it’s a ‘let’s see how it pans out’ kind of energy.”
The key question is whether there will be more to follow or whether Meghan’s return to the silver screen will be a one hit wonder. Hagan and Ede both felt that if successful, Meghan might well look to take on more roles.
“This is a kind of good litmus test to see what the outcome is,” Ede said. “Obviously, she knows that anything that she does will get column inches. And if you’re a movie or if you’re a studio, that’s something that you really want.”
He pointed out Kim Kardashian’s legal drama All’s Fair has been critically slammed giving it an initial Rotten Tomatoes rating of 0 percent, which has since risen to four percent.
“A great example is the new Kim Kardashian, which got zero on Rotten Tomatoes,” Ede said, “but it’s literally everywhere because everybody wants to watch it. It’s a guilty pleasure.
“We have to remember that Suits was still a pretty cult show. She’s not an Oscar winner, that’s for sure. I don’t think it will be just a one-off. I suspect this is just a way of dipping her toes back in to see what the reaction will be.”
The With Love, Meghan Festival Special
The timing has also played out well for Meghan, drawing some attention just before Netflix announced on Monday the release date for the festive special of With Love, due out December 3.
The show is tied to her As Ever online shop and some of the products on show are available to buy from Meghan. Meanwhile, Netflix is an equity partner, meaning they profit when As Ever profits.
There is a make or break feel to this latest With Love offering after “Season One” was heavily criticized by reviewers and Season Two made little impact on the culture pages of U.S. news organizations.
“She’s got obviously her Christmas special, which is coming out,” Ede said, “and it could be an interesting way of making money, keeping popular and still perpetuating the Meghan Markle myth.”
Close Personal Friends
The film Meghan will appear in focuses on two couples, one famous one not, and is set in Santa Barbara, making Meghan the perfect choice for a celebrity cameo as she lives in Montecito with Harry.
“I think she should have some fun,” Ede said. “The great thing is she’s playing herself, so she’s not playing a character. She can’t be sort of scrutinized for that. She’s not like J.Lo, who literally every single film she touches flops. We haven’t got that with Meghan yet.
“So actually, this is a little bit like when Geri Halliwell [from the Spice Girls] was in Sex and the City, it’s just a kind of a fun thing. So, I don’t think the film will rely on her fame. The film’s got some brilliant talent in it anyway. So I think it would just be a blink and you miss it kind of role, a bit of a laugh rather than anything to be taken too seriously or for critics to pile on her over.”
Do you have a question about King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
