CLAIRE FOY, WHO played Queen Elizabeth II in the hit drama The Crown, earned less than Matt Smith who played her husband Prince Philip.
Netflix producers have admitted that Smith was paid more, saying he negotiated a better deal than Foy because of his starring role on the BBC’s Doctor Who.
However, critics say this could only explain the first season – before Foy won a host of awards and nominations for the role.
The 33-year-old won a best actress Golden Globe for season one and a Golden Globe nomination in the same category for season two.
She was also nominated at the BAFTAs, Emmys and Screen Actors Guild awards.
The admission about the salaries was made at the INTV conference in Jerusalem this week.
Suzanne Mackie, one of the show’s producers, said the discrepancy was being resolved for the third season but that it will not benefit Foy.
Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen.
The show is replacing its leads when filming begins in July, Olivia Colman is stepping in as the Queen.
Helena Bonham-Carter will replace Vanessa Kirby as Elizabeth’s sister, the late Princess Margaret.
No salaries have been revealed but Variety reported that Foy’s was earning $40,000 (€32,000) an episode last year. The Crown costs $7 (€5.6) million an episode to produce.
It comes at a time when pay equality is being highlighted in Hollywood. In January, it was revealed that Michelle Williams earned 1% of what costar Mark Wahlberg received for re-shooting ‘All The Money’ without Kevin Spacey.
She was paid $80 (€64) per day for 10 days of added work after Kevin Spacey was pulled from the film due to numerous allegations made against him.
Her male counterpart Mark Wahlberg received a negotiated fee of $1.5 (€1.2) million. Wahlberg donated $2 (€1.6) million to a fund dedicated to fighting pay inequality and harassment of women in the name of Williams.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say