Tobias Menzies says he was paid less than Olivia Colman for The Crown
Menzies said that he has been paid less than Olivia Colman, after it was announced that Matt Smith had earned more than Claire Foy on the Netflix period drama
Although almost universally praised as an exemplary piece of television, The Crown generated its fair share of controversy last year when it emerged that series lead Claire Foy had been paid less than co-star Matt Smith.
However, it appears that problem has been addressed for series three – with Tobias Menzies, who has taken over from Smith as Prince Phillip, claiming that he has been paid less than Olivia Colman, who took over from Foy as Queen Elizabeth II.
“It's an area that, as you may appreciate, I'm wary to step into,” he told Harper’s Bazaar UK.
“I think broadly speaking, yes, greater transparency will lead to greater equality and that is absolutely the direction of travel that I think is necessary and good. It's interesting... my understanding is, that this time round, I'm paid less than Olivia.
“Of course, I think that feels proportionate because Olivia's much more established than me and has a much higher profile that she's bringing to the show and the product.”
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Menzies said that the news that Foy had been paid less than Smith was “hard to swallow” but that “they got there in the end.”
Reports following the news of the pay gap had claimed that the show’s producers offered to pay Foy an extra £200,000 to make up for the issue – although Foy has denied these reports.
The third season of The Crown debuted on Netflix yesterday, and has so far proved a hit with fans and critics alike.
