‘The Crown’s Claire Foy Is Getting $275K In Back Pay From Left Bank Pictures

Left Bank Pictures, the production company behind The Crown, is paying its star Claire Foy $275k in back pay after it was made public that Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip, was paid more than Foy. The Crown is the story of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and there were complaints about equal pay after it was revealed that Foy was paid less than Smith, allegedly because Smith, who played Dr. Who, was better known than Claire Foy.

Left Bank Pictures Pays Claire Foy $275k In Back Pay

Page Six says that Left Bank Pictures wants to rectify the pay discrepancy, and so they are paying Claire Foy an additional $275k. Left Bank Pictures released a statement to say they are committed to fair pay for the production of The Crown.

“As the producers of The Crown we are responsible for budgets and salaries. The actors are not aware of who gets what and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues. We are absolutely united with the fight for fair pay, free of gender bias and for a rebalancing of the industry’s treatment of women in front of the camera and behind the scenes.”

Public outcry followed the revelation that Foy was paid less than Smith for her lead role as Queen Elizabeth. Left Bank Pictures responded by apologizing to Foy, stating, “no one gets paid more than the Queen.”

Matt Smith, who starred as Prince Philip on The Crown, was disappointed to find out that Claire Foy was paid an inferior salary, despite playing the lead role as Queen Elizabeth. Smith thinks the revelation about pay disparity made everyone in production think about future pay scales.

“I think actually she probably should’ve been paid that originally in the first place and I think everyone’s taken a long, hard look at themselves and gone, ‘Here’s where we went wrong and can we go forward and make it right?'”

Matt Smith thoroughly had Claire Foy’s back and lobbied for a correction in her pay.

“The problem is it happened too late. She’s the Queen, for God’s sake. It’s ridiculous.”

The Crown producers Suzanne Mackie and Andy Harries were asked about Claire Foy and the pay disparity and they said that going forward, it would be rectified.

The Crown Producers Said The Claire Foy Situation Would Be Rectified

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

Olivia Colman is taking over the role of Queen Elizabeth for the third season of The Crown on Netflix from Foy, but Claire Foy says she knew that was always the plan as she has “aged out” of playing Queen Elizabeth in middle age. Matt Smith’s role of Prince Philip has also been recast for Season 3 of The Crown. Foy stated that she is happy for Olivia Colman.

“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.”