Photo: Daniele Venturelli/WireImage; Netflix
Imelda Staunton, who will star asQueen Elizabeth IIin the next two seasons ofThe Crown, said that some on set found it hard to look at her in character after the monarch’s death.
“We filmed the day after the funeral, and I felt it was difficult for the other people looking at me ‘cause we have a lot of supporting artists and they were all looking at this act of playing the person who had been buried yesterday,” Staunton, 66, toldEntertainment Tonight. “So, it was odd.”
AfterQueen Elizabeth’s Sept. 8 death,The Crownpaused filming of its sixth season.
“Everyone was extremely sad, and I know I was very inconsolable that evening,” Staunton said. “My reaction surprised me. Of course, I would feel something. But having lived with her very closely for two years, it felt strange.”
After the actress took the filming break for 10 days, she said she could tell there was a “great sense of sadness” among the cast and crew. “I think his love letter to the queen started a long time ago… I think it’s gone on a long time,” Staunton said of show creatorPeter Morgan, who launched the series in 2016. “So, it’s obvious that he is very passionate about this family.”
“I think this Queen is a more familiar look for many people around the world,” Staunton toldET. “Certainly, for Claire Foy, when it started that was like a costume drama, many years ago. And this is the present queen, what she was like in the ’90s. So, I felt more daunted.”
Dave Benett/Getty
For the final two seasons of the series, including season 5 arriving on Netflix on Nov. 9, theHarry Potteralum will lead the cast as they portray a “tumultuous time for the royal family.” Thestoryline for the show’s next season will focus partially on 1992— when three of her four children were separated from their spouses and a devastating fire hit Windsor Castle — which the Queen declared to be an “annus horribilis” (Latin for “horrible year”).
Staunton was the first cast member announced in January 2020, playing a more contemporary version of the Queen, andpreviously described the task as an “extra challenge"since she’s “the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with.”
Thefirst-look photoof Staunton in character was released in July 2021. Other members of the cast includeJonathan Pryceas Prince Philip,Dominic Westas Prince Charles andElizabeth DebickiasPrincess Diana. Debicki previously called taking on the rolean honor.
“Princess Diana’s spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many,” she said. “It is my true privilege and honor to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one.”
Imelda Staunton inThe Crownseason 5 (2022).Netflix
On Wednesday,Netflixreleased abehind-the-scenes lookat the newest installment of the series, where cast members spoke about what to expect and how it came together.
“Season 5 plays against a period of real criticism and uncertainty and unconfidence,” Morgan shared. “It’s quite shocking how overtly critical people were of the monarchy at that time.”
source: people.com
