The story so far. It was revealed earlier this year that the two lead stars of The Crown’s first two season – Claire Foy and Matt Smith – weren’t getting the same amount of money for their roles. That Smith was earning more than Foy. The producers have since declared that in the future, nobody will earn more than whoever takes the role of the Queen on – that’ll be Olivia Colman in the upcoming season three – but it still all left a bit of a sour taste.
Both Smith and Foy have been quiet on the furore thus far, but Smith has addressed it in a new interview whilst promoting the film Mapplethorpe.
“Claire is one of my best friends, and I believe that we should be paid equally and fairly and there should be equality for all”, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I support her completely, and I’m pleased that it was resolved and they made amends for it because that what’s needed to happen. Going forward, I think we should all bear in mind that we need to strive to make this better and a more even playing field for everyone involved — but not just in our industry, in all industries”.
Whether making amends meant they wrote Foy a cheque is unclear. We suspect that question may come up in the future.
The Crown season three starts filming shortly.