Claire Foy has opened up about the drama surrounding the pay gap between herself and her The Crown co-star Matt Smith, who Variety reported received more for the first two seasons of The Crown as a result of his Doctor Who fame.
“I’m surprised because I’m at the centre of it, and anything that I’m at the centre of like that is very, very odd, and feels very, very out of ordinary,” Foy told EW on Friday.
“But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama,” she continued. “I’m not surprised that people saw [the story] and went, ‘Oh, that’s a bit odd.’ But I know that Matt feels the same that I do, that it’s odd to find yourself at the centre [of a story] that you didn’t particularly ask for.”
Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind The Crown,revealed at a talk in Jerusalem March 13 that Smith had received a higher paycut, but added that going forward, “no one gets paid more than the Queen.” Thecompany later issued a formal apology for the pay gap.
“We want to apologize to both Claire Foy and toMatt Smith, brilliant actors and friends, who have found themselves at the centre of a media storm this week through no faultof their own. Claire and Matt are incredibly gifted actors who, along with thewider cast on The Crown have worked tirelessly to bring our charactersto life with compassion and integrity,” Left Bank said.
It added: “As the producers of The Crown, we at Left Bank Picturesare responsible for budgets and salaries; the actors are not aware of who getswhat, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of theircolleagues.”
Foy and Smith’s tenure with the series ended with the second season. For the third season, their characters -- Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip -- will be replaced by Olivia Colman and an unannounced actor to portray the royal couple during the years spanning 1964-1976. Helena Bonham Carter will replace Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret.