The Crown stars on becoming the royals and managing the hype of the hotly anticipated show
Every new season of The Crown becomes one of the most hotly anticipated TV events of the year.
And the latest series is no different, with events now focussing on the more recent history of the 1990s.
The show, which Netflix insists is fictional, despite being broadly based on true events and real life people, gets another cast change for season five, reflecting the ageing royal family as it moves through the years.
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Imelda Staunton picks up the role of Queen Elizabeth II, while Jonathan Pryce stars as Prince Philip. Lesley Manville will take over as Princess Margaret, and Dominic West and Olivia Williams will play Prince Charles and Camilla, respectively.
The latest season has not come without its controversy though, with calls from royalists to make it clear the show is fictional, and while others suggested it should be delayed due to the death of the Queen in September.
Explaining to Sky News about the hype around the latest season, West said after the death of the Queen, there is likely to be more people than ever watching – but doesn’t think it is a bad thing.
“What’s interesting with this season is that there’s more people who remember what went on in this season than ever before,” he said.
“And obviously after the Queen’s death… it’s even more interest – and that’s great to be part of… people care what you’re doing.”
Olivia Williams and Dominic West as Camilla and Prince Charles in The Crown. Pic: Netflix
However, Staunton added that she had to let go of how people feel about the Queen, particularly following her death, in order to portray her in the show and manage the hype.
“That can’t affect us at all because we’re still just doing this job,” she said.
“And yes, they’re people our generation have known all our lives, but that cannot interrupt what you’re doing, and you can’t use that in any way because it is not useful.”
For Pryce, despite it being the role of a lifetime, he is still aware that the perceptions of the late Royals may have changed.
“I think I’ve been preparing all my life to play Prince Philip,” Pryce told Sky News about taking on the new role.
“I think the thing that will change is with the passing of both Philip and the Queen is it’s not our perceptions of the character, but the audience’s perceptions of the series.
“It will inform how they view it in a different way… there’ll be more of a connection for the audience with the characters.”
Dominic West as Prince Charles in The Crown. Pic: Netflix
Part of the anticipation comes with seeing just how much of a likeness the actors have to their characters, with The Crown famed for its attention to detail – even when it comes to private settings.
“The first scene we [Pryce and Staunton] shot, we both thanked the servant for putting the food down, and we were told by the protocol officer, ‘no, no, no, no, you don’t say thank you’,” Pryce said.
Manville added: “And kiss is first, curtsy second.
“One of my early scenes was Margaret greeting the Queen publicly, and it’s very specific. It’s the kiss first and then the curtsy.”
For West, the detail in the costumes is something that helped him get into the headspace of Prince Charles, going on to tell Sky News: “He’s one of the best dressed men in the world.
“My favourite is his white tropical naval captain’s suit, which is very nice, and nobody looks bad in that. Nobody.”
Williams added: “They have a real skill for finding things from the nineties that have been worn and worn.
“I hate it when you see someone in a pair of shoes that have just been bought, when they would really have shoes that were 20-years-old.”
Season five of The Crown streams on Netflix from 9 November.
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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