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Claire Foy Breaks Silence on ‘The Crown’ Pay Gap Between Her and Costar Matt Smith

Claire Foy Matt Smith The Crown Pay Gap
Claire Foy attends the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 7, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The Queen has spoken. Claire Foy has broken her silence following the revelation that she was paid less than her Crown costar Matt Smith.

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“I’m surprised because I’m at the center of it, and anything that I’m at the center of like that is very, very odd, and feels very, very out of ordinary,” Foy, 33, told Entertainment Weekly.

“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 center [of a story] that you didn’t particularly ask for.”

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Claire Foy Matt Smith The Crown Pay Gap
Claire Foy and Matt Smith on ‘The Crown.’ Alex Bailey/Netflix

Earlier this month, Netflix admitted that Foy — who plays Queen Elizabeth II opposite Smith’s Prince Philip — received a smaller paycheck for her work. “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” producer Suzanne Mackie said at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem on March 13.

According to Variety, Foy was paid $40,000 per episode, but Smith’s salary has not been disclosed.

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Foy and Smith have since ended their time on the smash hit. Olivia Coleman is set to take over for the actress for seasons 3 and 4, while Smith’s replacement has yet to be announced.

Season three of The Crown will stream on Netflix in 2019.

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