Jonathan Pryce compares working on The Crown to Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones fans remember Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow, the fanatical leader of the Faith Militant. Before that, he was starring in iconic sci-fi movies like Brazil. And now, he’s the latest actor to play Prince Philip on The Crown, Netflix’ ongoing saga about the British royal family. That show switches out actors every couple of seasons as the characters age, and Pryce has stepped in for season 5.

As it ends up, working on the two shows is more similar than you might think. “The closest that I can [compare The Crown to]…was joining Game of Thrones in season 5,” Pryce told Digital Spy. “I came late to this huge worldwide megahit. And I expected the cast, the crew, and everyone to be rather cynical, because they had this hit on their hands. But far from it.”

"They were determined to make it the best they could, still. And it was the same experience coming onto The Crown in season 5. I think that’s what I’ll do in the future. I’ll just wait for a season 5. I’ll see how Coronation Street works out, and if it becomes a hit, I’ll join it."

Pryce earned his first-ever Academy Award nomination in 2019 for his work in The Two Popes, so clearly his late career strategy is working. It’s important to have a niche; I guess “joins a show five seasons in and kills it” is his.

Imelda Staunton “can’t think” about how enormous The Crown is

Meanwhile, Imelda Staunton is the new actor playing Queen Elizabeth II. She’s also an Academy Award nominee, although she’s best known for playing Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter movies.

“Like any job, you’ve got the script today, and you are doing that job” Staunton said of joining The Crown this late in the game. “Now, there’s a lot of prep involved. We all had time to prep, and that was a luxury. So you can’t, as actors, think about it as being enormous. Of course, you have that go through your brain and all that. And then that has to go. Then you’ve got your job to do.”

The Crown season 5 traces the history of the royal family up until the death of Princess Diana in 1997. It’s unclear how late into history The Crown will go, but season 6 is filming right now.

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