Royals 'The Crown' 's Gillian Anderson Reveals the Trick to Mastering Margaret Thatcher's Curtsy Gillian Anderson just scored a Golden Globe nomination for best supporting actress By Stephanie Petit Stephanie Petit Stephanie Petit is a Royals Editor, Writer and Reporter at PEOPLE. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 4, 2021 01:37PM EST Gillian Anderson in InStyle. Photo: PHOTO BY Charlotte Hadden/Together Associates To perfect Margaret Thatcher's deep curtsy, Gillian Anderson says it's all in the "thighs." Anderson, who just picked up a best supporting actress Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of the former U.K. prime minister in season four of The Crown, spoke with InStyle about the role. Although she confessed that she was "really f—ing nervous" about portraying the historic character, she was able to master Thatcher's mannerisms, including her memorable curtsy greeting to Queen Elizabeth. "In order to do that, one needs good balance and a certain degree of musculature in one's thighs," the actress said. "I don't feel like I have particularly strong thighs. I'm not sure I even knew I could do that prior to the scene." See The Crown's Emma Corrin's Unfiltered Reaction to Her First Golden Globe Nomination Gillian Anderson in InStyle. PHOTO BY Charlotte Hadden/Together Associates Anderson, 52, added that she "worked very hard on the voice, specifically." "It needed to be a particular pitch and way of talking that felt like it would be natural and grounded somewhere in me, and also one that I could keep consistent," she said. Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. Sophie Mutevelian/Netflix While Anderson's transformation into "The Iron Lady" made viewers do a double take, replicating Thatcher's appearance didn't come easy for The Crown's hair and makeup team. "What had looked perfect in the makeup room mirror was just wrong when it got in front of the camera," the actress told the magazine. "They had to start from scratch again with the base and the color of the eyebrows and the density of the hair and the lips." Princess Margaret and Prince Philip Share a Laugh — and More Behind-the-Scenes Snaps from The Crown When the cameras weren't rolling, however, the cast of The Crown let loose on set. Anderson recently appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and shared how Olivia Colman, who played Queen Elizabeth, convinced the cast to perform a dance to Lizzo's "Good As Hell" between scenes. "Olivia apparently does a dance class in the area that she lives with a bunch of friends on a regular basis, and the last time she did the class, they had danced to that Lizzo song," Anderson recalled. "She asked if we would happen to be interested in maybe doing it, and she would video it." However, Colman told the cast — including Tobias Menzies (Prince Philip), Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret), Josh O'Connor (Prince Charles), Erin Doherty (Princess Anne) and Marion Bailey (the Queen Mother) — that she would only show the video to her fellow dancers. "So it was never meant to see the light of day," Anderson explained. Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more! Anderson previously spoke on The Crown's official podcast about how much fun the cast had on set in between filming. Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday. Get a taste of the podcast below. "Much hilarity ensued the minute cut was called and sometimes very difficult to pull oneself back together into Margaret Thatcher," she said. The March issue of InStyle, available on newsstands, on Amazon and for digital download February 12.