The Crown has found its new Prince Philip. Netflix announced on Wednesday, March 28, that Tobias Menzies will take over for Matt Smith on the historical drama.
Deadline reports that the 44-year-old actor — who is best known for playing the dual roles of Frank Randall and Black Jack Randall on Outlander, as well as Edmure Tully on Game of Thrones — has signed on for seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown. He begins shooting this summer in the U.K. and will appear alongside Olivia Colman, who was previously announced to take over the role of Queen Elizabeth II from Claire Foy.
In addition to Outlander and Game of Thrones, Menzies has starred in Rome, The Terror, Casino Royale and Atonement.
The news of Menzies’ casting comes after producers Andy Harries and Suzanne Mackie revealed at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem on March 13 that Foy, 33, was paid less than her male counterpart Smith, 35, during the first two seasons of the Emmy-winning show. According to Variety, she made $40,000 per episode, while the actor’s salary has not been disclosed.
Mackie attributed the pay disparity to Smith’s fame from his role on Doctor Who. “Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen,” she said at the conference.
Foy later spoke out about the news. “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,” she told Entertainment Weekly on March 24. “But I’m not [surprised about the interest in the story] in the sense that it was a female-led drama. 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.”
Season 3 of The Crown is expected to debut on Netflix in 2019.
