Former actress Meghan Markle began her Hollywood relaunch in the summer, signing with a talent agency that has A-list clients on their books, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Robert De Niro and Jessica Alba. She was eyeing up becoming a “Hollywood power player”, but her focus has now switched to encouraging her husband to try and break Hollywood instead.

The insider said, “Meghan is back and forth over an acting return, but in the meantime she wants Prince Harry to step into the Hollywood limelight – so she’s packing him off for acting lessons as soon as possible.” They added, “Meghan’s coached Harry for a few projects and they’ve had a lot of fun together playing around with improv but she wants him to take it to the next level, so she’s getting him lined up with a proper acting coach. She’s thinks Harry could do a lot more than he’s ever dared let himself dream and she’s pushing him to expand out of his comfort zone. He’s leading man material in her eyes but of course she doesn’t expect him to take on anything huge to start, a small part on a quality show would be ideal. And with their Netflix deal and other Hollywood connections that are starting to take shape, it’s something they could genuinely make happen for him.”

In 2020, Meghan, 42 and Harry, 39 signed a reported $100 million deal with Netflix and it is still ongoing. So far, they have released bombshell blockbuster, Harry & Meghan, a tell-all six-part documentary series which covered the couple’s relationship from their early courtship to their decision to step down as working members of the Royal Family. It is Netflix’s most watched documentary and holds the record for the biggest debut for a Netflix documentary, with a total 81.6 million hours watched on its first four days of release, amounting to more than 28 million households.

Then, a docuseries about global activists called Live to Lead, which featured interviews with Greta Thunberg and Gloria Steinem, was released at the end of 2022. Last month, Prince Harry’s solo project, the Heart of Invictus about the Invictus Games which he founded in 2014, launched. The couple are also said to have some shows in the pipeline, including production of the film adaptation of a book, Meet Me at the Lake, written by a Canadian author. The story shares noticeable similarities with their own experiences. Harry is also said to be working on a solo documentary which will see him return to his “second home” of Africa about his love of the continent, its people and its wildlife. The journey will be seen as him following in the footsteps of his mother, Princess Diana, who walked through a live minefield in Angola as part of her campaign against landmines shortly before her death in 1997.

With all the recent screen time under their belt, Meghan is encouraging Harry to head for the bright lights of Hollywood, the source says. But he isn’t as keen as he’s worried he’ll be setting himself up for a fall.

“Harry may consider America his spiritual home from home but he’s still very much that proper English gentleman deep down, which Meghan has no issue with but there’s a fine line between being endearingly old fashioned and somewhat stiff and awkward. She wants him to embrace Hollywood with open arms and really maximize his potential as a creative artist as well as a local resident,” they say, adding, “Harry’s very bashful about the idea of acting, it’s not that he considers himself incapable of it but there’s a worry on his part that he could be moving towards difficult territory. It’s not his qualified area of expertise, that’s his main source of trepidation, as well as setting himself up for ridicule if it all goes wrong and he comes across like this pompous English try-hard.”

The Duchess of Sussex started out her career on the smaller sets, including Deal or No Deal where she would open the red briefcases filled with a mystery cash number. She also starred in CSI Miami as part of a guest role on the police drama. Meghan reached fame after playing paralegal-turned-associate Rachel Zane in the USA Network legal drama Suits for seven seasons between 2011 to 2017. In 2020, she made her Disney voiceover debut, narrating the story of an elephant’s journey just months after Prince Harry was filmed telling the Disney CEO that she does “voiceovers”.

The source says Meghan can see potential in Harry’s TV work.
“Meghan’s telling him to show the same confidence he urges her and others to have, all he’s got to do is learn the basic tools then dip his toe in the water and see how he likes it. She’s confident he’ll take to acting like a duck to water and has seen enough evidence of his star power and ability to hold the camera to know this is well within his capabilities.”
They add that Harry making it to the big screen would be beneficial for them from a networking point of view, too as they will get to hang out with A-Listers,

“The other big lure or attraction here for Meghan is that it’ll improve their schmoozing powers to no end. If Harry gets a movie cameo role alongside, say, Leo DiCaprio or Tom Hanks and gets to work under the direction of big-name producers like the Spielberg or Scorsese types then it’ll open up so many doors for them socially and lead to other opportunities that will only benefit Brand Sussex. Even TV appearances on sitcoms or something more serious like a crime series would be a great step up the ladder.”

“But she’s not just encouraging him towards acting, it’s as much about integrating him into the Hollywood world and mentality in general.”

Harry, however, isn’t fussed on eyes being on him.

“Harry’s still quite shy and set in his ways, he’s not really embraced all the glitz and glamour yet as much as Meghan would like. She’d like him to smarten up his wardrobe and start dressing himself in flashier designer labels, get more into his keep fit and beauty rituals plus break bread with fellow talent at places like The Ivy and other more hip hangouts where he can mingle with more A-listers.

“She’s told him it’s time to take himself out of that day-to-day comfort zone of cozy lunches in Montecito and walks on the beach and the occasional game of polo. Instead he needs to get that Hollywood swagger going, she’s reminding him he’s not in England anymore and they both need to act the part of being REAL celebrity A-listers.”