Claire Foy Was Paid Less Than Matt Smith For Netflix Series ‘The Crown’

She might be playing the Queen of England, but it seems Claire Foy of the Netflix series The Crown was paid like a second-class citizen. At a panel discussion today at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem, it was revealed that Claire Foy, who played Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix hit series The Crown, was paid less than Matt Smith, who was cast in the role of Prince Philip. Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth had more screen time than Matt Smith as Prince Philip, yet Smith was still paid more.

Claire Foy Was Paid Less For Her Role As Queen Elizabeth In The Crown Than Matt Smith

Claire Foy and Matt Smith signed on for two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown, but then aged out, so to speak. Claire Foy said she knew from the start that even with the best hair and makeup, it would be impossible to age her as Queen Elizabeth through her forties and into her fifties.

“This is the last stint. It’s over, I’m done. I always knew it was only going to be two series and then the part would be reincarnated and someone else takes over. That’s the nature of the part.”

Foy said both she and Matt Smith knew that their roles would be recast for The Crown Season 3, and at this time, actress Olivia Colman has been cast as Queen Elizabeth for the third season of The Crown.

Netflix paid Claire Foy, Queen on "The Crown," less than her on-screen husband https://t.co/80raPrZweP

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 13, 2018

Producers Of The Crown Say That Matt Smith Was Paid More Than Claire Foy Due To His Doctor Who Fame

So what was the reason to pay Claire Foy less for her role in the Netflix series The Crown than Matt Smith? After all, Claire Foy took home a Golden Globe for playing Queen Elizabeth in The Crown. PageSix says that producers from The Crown explain that Matt Smith had just come off his role as Doctor Who when he was cast as Prince Philip in the Netflix series The Crown. But fans of Claire Foy argue that she was hardly an unknown, having played Anne Boleyn in the PBS series Wolf Hall.

The Crown producer Suzanne Mackie admits that in light of this embarrassing information, such a pay discrepancy won’t happen again.

“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen.”

But sadly for Claire Foy, this new rule will not benefit her in the role of Queen Elizabeth, but it will help the new Queen Elizabeth in the series The Crown, Olivia Colman.

#TheCrown Will Embrace Salary Parity After Star Claire Foy Earned Less Than Matt Smith https://t.co/ygUzKSCKA2 pic.twitter.com/6AcjyoT3p0

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 13, 2018

The Crown Producers Have Learned From The Claire Foy Example, And Nobody Will Be Paid More Than The Queen

The Crown producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries were asked point-blank at the INTV Conference whether Claire Foy was paid more than Matt Smith, says Vanity Fair.

But Variety quoted the producers of The Crown in saying that the salary issues would be better examined going forward on the Netflix series.

“The producers acknowledged that [Smith] did make more due to his Doctor Who fame, but that they would rectify that for the future.”