Olivia Colman to play Queen in ‘The Crown’ after Claire Foy

It has been announced that Olivia Colman is to take over from Claire Foy in portraying The Queen for Netflix’s drama, ‘The Crown’.

Colman, who has been lauded for her performances in ‘Broadchurch’ and ‘The Night Manager’, expressed her glee at winning the role: “I’m so thrilled to be part of The Crown. I was utterly gripped watching it.”

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Claire Foy played Elizabeth II in the first and second series of the popular royal drama, but for the third and fourth series of ‘The Crown’, a more mature actress is needed; series three picks up from 1963, when Her Majesty is 37.

Creator of the show, Peter Morgan, has always said that he intended to replace key cast members in later seasons, to better portray the main characters as they age.

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“What’s so beautiful about Claire is her youth,” he told Variety before the release of series one. “You can’t ask someone to act middle-aged. Someone has to bring their own fatigue to it.

“The feelings we all have as 50-year-olds are different than the feelings we all have as 30-year-olds. That informs everything we do.”

Claire Foy is happy with Olivia Colman’s appointment as her successor in ‘The Crown’ (Netflix)

The actress also paid tribute to her predecessor, saying: “I think Claire Foy is an absolute genius – she’s an incredibly hard act to follow.

“I’m basically going to re-watch every episode and copy her.”

Foy’s version of the Monarch has been very popular, and she received Emmy nomination as best actress for her work, as well as winning a Golden Globe award and Screen Actors Guild award as best actress in a drama.

The actress was pleased with Colman’s appointment as her successor: “I just love her, I admire her so much and the idea that we sort of will be doing the same job but not actually working together is just enough – I’m honoured by that,” Foy said.

netflix’s ‘the crown’ will see a change of cast as they years progress in the show; olivia colman will take over from claire foy (nextflix)

This isn’t the first time Olivia Colman has played Royalty: she played the future Queen Mother in 2012’s ‘Hyde Park on Hudson’ and has taken on the role of Queen Anne in ‘The Favourite’, to air next year.

There has been no mention of a replacement for Matt Smith, who plays The Duke of Edinburgh.

The second series will be released onto Netflix on 8th December, and it is expected you can see Olivia Colman in ‘The Crown’ from 2019.

 

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