if you can<u+2019>t get the british royal family to come to your party, take the next best thing: actors who play the british royal family on television. and for god<u+2019>s sake, yes, there<u+2019>s yet another thing to watch on television. that would be the new series <u+201c>the crown<u+201d> which drops on netflix on nov. 4. written by peter morgan, the screenwriter of <u+201c>the queen,<u+201d> which won helen mirren an oscar, and inspired by his play <u+201c>the audience,<u+201d> which won ms. mirren a tony, the 10-part first season takes place in the 1940s and begins with<u+2014>spoiler alert!<u+2014>the death of king george vi and the coronation of queen elizabeth ii. on sunday, netflix hosted a premiere of the first two episodes at the museum of modern art for a crowd of binge watchers that included leon and debra black, lady lynn forester de rothschild, harry evans and tina brown, colin and elizabeth callender, nicky hilton and james rothschild, blaine trump and steve simon, zachary quinto and david and danielle ganek. mr. morgan, there with gillian anderson who herself is in town promoting a new book she has co-written called <u+201c>we: a manifesto for women,<u+201d> as well as the new season of <u+201c>the fall<u+201d> (even more tv to watch), said he wasn<u+2019>t sure how many seasons <u+201c>the crown<u+201d> would end up having. <u+201c>we<u+2019>ll see how it<u+2019>s received,<u+201d> said mr. morgan, who plans to attend, with the cast and creative team, another big premiere of the show next week in london, where, one might imagine the hype on that side of the pond is pretty high. but, he admitted, <u+201c>people are more curious as to whether netflix has wasted money or not.<u+201d> (the budget of the first season was reportedly over $100 million.) after the screening, guests mingled with the actors next door at the modern, including claire foy, who plays queen elizabeth; matt smith, who plays prince philip; jared harris; vanessa kirby; and john lithgow who is winston churchill. ms. foy, who is 32, heard the news that she got the role when she was five months pregnant. <u+201c>i have played lady macbeth and i did play anne boleyn [in the miniseries <u+201c>wolf hall<u+201d>], but that<u+2019>s a different kettle of fish. this is the biggest job i<u+2019>ve ever gotten.<u+201d> to prepare, <u+201c>i read as much as i could and watched as much as i could, but you can<u+2019>t endgame the character. it<u+2019>s peter<u+2019>s queen. it<u+2019>s peter<u+2019>s version of her.<u+201d> still, ms. foy said she was a <u+201c>a bit confused<u+201d> why netflix wanted her. <u+201c>i thought, <u+2018>are you sure?<u+2019> matt and i always joke how common we are.<u+201d> ms. kirby, who plays elizabeth<u+2019>s sister, princess margaret, said that when she heard she got the role she was on a movie set with the actor sean bean. <u+201c>i was running around the set in belfast going, <u+2018>oh my god, i<u+2019>m so happy.<u+2019> it<u+2019>s rare to find something as brilliant as this. i was dying to do it.<u+201d> when something<u+2019>s about the royal family, added ms. kirby, <u+201c>you often see them as caricatures.<u+201d> to prepare, <u+201c>i read every biography of margaret. i watched so much archival footage.<u+201d> there was a lot of research all around. once he heard they wanted him, <u+201c>i went to work reading,<u+201d> said mr. lithgow, who is playing churchill from the ages of 73 to 80. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not that i had enough, but it was time to start acting and stop researching.<u+201d> as far as mr. lithgow was concerned, there was a problem. churchill was five foot six; mr. lithgow is six foot four. <u+201c>what do we do about my height?<u+201d> mr. lithgow asked the director, stephen daldry. <u+201c>he said, <u+2018>don<u+2019>t even think about it. don<u+2019>t think about the resemblance.<u+2019><u+201d> mr. harris, the king george of <u+201c>the crown,<u+201d> said studying up on the history is important <u+201c>so you have something to latch on to as you wander the streets of london thinking about it.<u+201d> one thing mr. harris, the son of actor richard harris, learned and admired, was that king george <u+201c>was especially terrified of his parents and he wasn<u+2019>t going to have that kind of relationship with his children.<u+201d> over the years, mr. harris said he has played royalty on stage and on-screen, including as henry viii in <u+201c>the other boleyn girl.<u+201d> <u+201c>the thing about playing a king or royals in any context is you can<u+2019>t play it. everyone else has to treat you that way, and then people can delineate their characters as to whether they coldheartedly endorse you or subtly undermine your power, for instance,<u+201d> said mr. harris. <u+201c>you don<u+2019>t decide to act <u+2018>kingly,<u+2019><u+201d> he explained. <u+201c>that<u+2019>s ridiculous.<u+201d>
a crowning achievement  - wsj
noauthor