When Harry Met Sally star Billy Crystal recalls Princess Diana's reaction to orgasm scene
"She starts laughing this incredibly guttural sound..."
There's no doubting that the When Harry Met Sally scene that sees Meg Ryan loudly fake an orgasm in New York's Katz's Delicatessen is one of the most iconic romcom moments of all time.
And now star Billy Crystal has revealed Princess Diana's reaction to watching the famous scene – explaining during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show that she laughed uproariously when she attended the film's royal premiere in Leicester Square in 1989.
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After describing his first encounter with Diana – calling her "a magnificent person" who "couldn’t have been more gracious, and stunning" – he went on to recount the moment they reached the scene in question, explaining how everyone looked over at her to see her reaction.
"Everybody knew about [the scene], but I don’t think she did," he said. "So, I could look over the balcony, and everyone in the orchestra just turns around to look at her, who I’m sitting next to.
"And she starts laughing this incredibly guttural sound that was like [he mimics her laugh]. Over and over, couldn’t catch her breath. It was stunning.
"I thought, here’s this unbelievable person, but if it was a date, I don’t think I’d see her again," he added. "Just because the laugh was just... I can’t. She’s beautiful, she’s a princess, guys, but the laugh. You know what I mean?"
When Harry Met Sally – which was directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron – is celebrating it's 35th anniversary this year and is still regarded as one of the very finest romcoms ever made.
Meanwhile, Crystal is currently starring in the Apple TV+ series Before, which we called a "haunting thriller" in our three-star review.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com last month, Crystal revealed how he "couldn't shed" his character in the series and opened up about the pain that led him through the most emotional scenes in the show.
"I was so in his world every day. It was one of the first times I was with a character that I couldn't shed, because the schedule was so compacted that I'd arrive at the set early in the day, be there 12, 14 hours, go home, learn my lines for the next day, and then the same thing happened for weeks and weeks and weeks and months and months and months," he said.
Read more:
- Billy Crystal "couldn't shed" haunted Before character
- Cillian Murphy on "genius" of ambiguous Small Things Like These ending
Small Things Like These is now showing in UK cinemas.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
