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Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ Casts ‘Dexter’s’ Michael C. Hall To Play JFK In Season 2

By Brad Faber
Published on: 07:36 PST, Feb 9, 2017

Netflix’s The Crown has now cast the actors who will play late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming Season 2. According to Deadline, JFK will be played by Michael C. Hall and Jackie Kennedy will be played by Jodi Balfour.

Michael C. Hall, of course, is known for his role as Dexter Morgan on the Showtime series Dexter, which ran from 2006-13. Hall has also been in movies such as Gamer and more recently Cold in July. According to E! Online, The Crown will mark Hall’s first major role in a television show since the finale of Dexter.

The Crown has also featured John Lithgow, who appeared with Hall in Dexter as well. Lithgow portrays famous Prime Minister Winston Churchill in The Crown.

Balfour recently starred in the Cinemax series Quarry, playing Joni Conway, the wife of troubled Vietnam War veteran Mac Conway (Logan Marshall-Greene). Season 1 of Quarry consisted of eight episodes and premiered in the fall of 2016.

The Crown focuses on the early years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who is played by Claire Foy. The show was created by English writer Peter Morgan, who is also known as The Last King Of Scotland, Frost/Nixon, and The Queen.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the first season of The Crown was widely acclaimed. Entertainment Weekly also notes that Foy recently won “Lead Drama Actor” at the 2017 Screen Actors Guild awards for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown.

According to Deadline, Season 2 of Netflix’s The Crown will be set in the 1960s. The Queen’s prime minister, Harold Macmillan, the third of her reign, will be the subject of a scandal in the upcoming season of The Crown.

“[The second season] begins with soldiers in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces fighting an illegal war in Egypt, and ends with the downfall of her third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, after a devastating scandal. The second season bears witness to the end of the age of deference, and ushers in the revolutionary era of the 1960s.”

In October of 2016, according to The Guardian, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning monarch alive today after the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand. Queen Elizabeth II, 90, ascended to the throne in 1952 and has reigned ever since. During her reign over England, Queen Elizabeth has had a total of 12 different Prime Ministers, with her first being Winston Churchill, according to CNN.

As Entertainment Weekly points out, although The Crown focuses on a British story, the inclusion of an iconic American President and First Lady into the story line should bolster The Crown’s “appeal.”

President John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was sworn into office on January 20, 1961. Kennedy was in office for less than three years at the time he was assassinated in the fall of 1963. However, history recorded many moments during Kennedy’s short presidency.

At the time he became President, JFK, a World War II veteran, was the youngest person ever the be elected President of the United States of the age of 43, according to the Atlantic. He was also the first person who was born in the 20th century to be sworn in as president, per theAtlantic.

As the Atlantic also points out, historians often point to JFK’s proficient handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he was known for being a skilled orator as well. During his inaugural address, President Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” It is a quote that has continued to live on and echo throughout the years.

The Crown certainly isn’t the first attempt to bring President Kennedy’s life to the screen either. The Week has a list of nine actors who have played President Kennedy, including Martin Sheen (Kennedy), Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days), and Rob Lowe (Killing Kennedy).

Deadline also reports that The Crown has brought in Mathew Goode to play Tony Armstrong-Jones, the husband of Princess Margaret. Per Deadline, the second season of The Crown is “currently in production,” but an official release date has not yet been revealed.

Are you excited to see Michael C. Hall and Joni Balfour star as President Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming season of Netflix’s The Crown?

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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