Claire Foy plays Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown.” The series will follow the United Kingdom monarch’s rule from 1947 to present day during its run on Netflix. “The Crown” is Elizabeth, and Elizabeth is “The Crown.”
Yet when it came to compensation Foy — who portrayed the young Elizabeth over the series’ first two seasons — fell short of being princely. The highest paid actor on the cast, it turns out, is Matt Smith, who plays Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip.
Suzanne Mackie, one of show’s producers, revealed the pay disparity during a recent panel discussion, according to Vulture. Name recognition, she said, was the reason for Smith’s bigger paychecks. Foy, she said was relatively unknown outside of the United Kingdom pre-“The Crown,” while Smith had built an international following as the 11th incarnation of “Dr. Who.”
Smith’s salary has not been disclosed, but Foy received $40,000 per episode, according to Variety.
Mackie says the disparity will be addressed in future seasons of the show.
“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” she said.
A lot of good that does Foy, who won the 2016 Golden Globes for best actress in a TV drama series.
“Murder on the Orient Express” actress Olivia Colman takes over for Foy in Season 3 of the series, which will cover the queen’s reign from the 1960s to ’80s. Hugh Laurie, known to the American audience for his portrayal of “House,” is said to be taking over as Prince Philip, according to the Daily Mail.
Hollywood has been called out recently for gender pay inequities. One of the most egregious examples was Michelle Williams receiving less that 1,000 percent than Mark Wahlberg for the re-shoots of “All the Money in the World.” Williams agreed to a per diem of $80 an hour, while Wahlberg received $1.5 million.
TV personality Catt Sadler also called attention to the problem when she resigned as E! News anchor after finding out that co-host Jason Kennedy was banking twice her salary.
