The Crown star Claire Foy makes less than Matt Smith

The Crown, the critically acclaimed series starring Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II and Matt Smith as Prince Phillip, is another wonderful example of a successful female lead drama.

While the show may focus on a female leader overcoming the adversity she faces due to her gender (among other issues), the economic politics of the producers when it comes to how they choose to pay their actors are perhaps not so liberal.

Variety reported that Left Bank CEO Andy Harries and creative director Suzanne Mackie were at the INTV Conference in Jerusalem and talked about the pay structure for the stars of The Crown.

It turns out that despite the award-winning Foy being the main character in the show, she makes less than her co-star Matt Smith. Fresh off his role in Doctor Who, Matt Smith was a high profile actor which demanded a large salary, which is understandable. But there’s no reason why anyone playing a title character role should make less than their second billed co-star — especially when Foy appears in more episodes than Smith.

The producers justify the initial pay gap because of Smith’s popularity but say they plan to bring Foy’s salary up to standards.

“Going forward, no one gets paid more than the Queen.” stated creative director Suzanne Mackie.

Which is as it should be.

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As the series progresses, new actors will be brought in to play the characters as they age.

Olivia Coleman, who has been cast as the next incarnation of the Queen, is an extremely high profile and acclaimed actor (often being rumored as the next Doctor Who actor) so there should be absolutely no reason for salary discrepancies between herself and her as yet unnamed co-star.