Helen Mirren reveals why she won't take over Queen Elizabeth in The Crown
She's played Queen Elizabeth II before!
Helen Mirren may have won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 film The Queen, but she's not looking to play the royal role again anytime soon. Although she's played many other royals in her 50-plus years as an actress, Dame Helen has admitted that she's not hoping to step back into the shoes of the British monarch.
In an interview on Lorraine earlier today, Helen was asked whether she'd be up for taking over the role of the Queen in the hugely popular series The Crown, a role currently played by Olivia Colman after she took over from Claire Foy.
Explaining why she wouldn't want to play Queen Elizabeth again, Helen explained that it was more about not wanting to step on someone else's toes, saying, "I don’t think so. I think it’s more interesting when you see other portraits and it builds into a more interesting picture than just someone coming back."
Helen also praised Olivia Colman and Claire Foy for their respective portrayals of the queen, saying, "A lot of people are wonderful, I thought Claire was wonderful, I know Olivia will be fantastic."
Catherine also discussed her brand new series, Catherine The Great, in which she plays the titular character who was an Empress of Russia in the 1700s and the country's longest-ruling female leader.
The series, which also stars Jason Clarke, Gina McKee and Rory Kinnear, airs today on Sky Atlantic and will also be available to watch on NOW TV.
Scroll through to see the cast members of Netflix's The Crown...
Queen Elizabeth II (Claire Foy)
Queen Elizabeth II is played by British actress Claire Foy.
In The Crown, the show starts with Princess Elizabeth marrying Philip in 1947 and then ascending the throne with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh in 1952 after her father died. Since then, the Queen has served through 12 Prime Ministers and still rules today with the longest reign in British monarchy history.
Actress Claire Foy has previously played TV roles in Being Human and the promise after studying acting at the Liverpool John Moores University and the Oxford School of Drama. She married actor Stephen Campbell Moore in 2014 and have had a daughter together. The couple announced their separation in February 2018. Since starring in The Crown, Claire has been nominated for several awards and won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as a Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild Award.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Matt Smith)
11th incarnation of the Doctor, Matt Smith, plays Prince Philip in The Crown. Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met at a wedding in 1934, but the pair didn't marry until 1947 and their first child, Prince Charles, was born a year later. Philip has stood alongside the Queen for nearly 70 years, giving up his successful career as an officer in the Navy, specifically as first lieutenant and second-in-command of the destroyer H.M.S. Chequers.
Matt was born in Northampton, UK in 1982 and had planned to be a professional football player, having played for the youth teams of Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest, and Leicester City. After a back injury ended his career, he joined the National Youth Theatre in London with his first theatre roles as Thomas Becket in Murder in the Cathedral and Bassoon in The Master and Margarita, which earned him an agent and his first professional jobs.
Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby)
Princess Margaret is played by Vanessa Kirby. As the sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret is best known for causing a great scandal in her 20s. She fell in love with Group Captain Peter Townsend of the Royal Air Force. Because of this, there was immense pressure from her family and the press for Margaret to break off the relationship, and in the end, her family won. She married Anthony Armstrong-Jones, a photographer, in 1960, and they had two children together, but divorced in 1978.
Vanessa Kirby is a British stage, television and film actress and model who studied at the University of Exeter. She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series for her role as Princess Margaret.
Winston Churchill (John Lithgow)
John Lithgow acts as Prime Minister Winston Churchill in The Crown, advising Queen Elizabeth during the start of her career. He enforced tradition and advised the Queen against taking Prince Philip's name. During the series we see him become a friend to the Queen, and they bonded over a shared interest in horses and polo.
John Lithgow is an American character actor, musician, comedian, poet, author, and singer. He has received two Tony Awards, six Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. John Lithgow is best known for his television roles as Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun and Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter. In film, he is also well known for his film roles in Blow Out and Footloose (1984).
King George VI (Jared Harris)
King George VI, played by Jared Harris, ruled for 16 years. He became king due to his older brother Prince Edward abdicating in 1936. He died of cancer in 1952, leaving the throne to his daughter, Elizabeth, who is the lead in The Crown.
Jared Harris is a British actor, best known for his roles as Lane Pryce in the television drama series Mad Men, and David Robert Jones in the science fiction series Fringe.
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother (Victoria Hamilton)
Victoria Hamilton plays the Queen Mother in the show. The Queen Mother married King George VI to become Queen Elizabeth and ruled alongside him for 16 years until he passed away in 1952. The Queen Mother passed away in her sleep on 30th March 2002, at 101 years old.
After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Victoria Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre.
Queen Mary (Eileen Atkins)
Eileen Atkins plays Queen Elizabeth II's grandmother, Queen Mary, otherwise known as Mary of Teck. Her sons were King George VI and Prince Edward, both of whom served as king. However, Prince Edward fell in love with a woman his family disapproved of, so abdicated the throne to marry her.
Three-time Olivier Award winner and BAFTA winner, Eileen Atkins is a British actress from London. She was appointed a CBE in 1990 and made a Dame in 2001 for her contribution to drama.
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