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Claire Foy “not surprised” at interest in gender pay story

The Crown star admits it is odd to find oneself at the centre of an international story.

Crown star Claire Foy has responded to recent stories that she earned less for the Netflix drama than her co-star Matt Smith.

“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 told EW. “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.”

Producers Left Bank Productions said last week, “As the producers of The Crown, we at Left Bank Pictures are responsible for budgets and salaries; the actors are not aware of who gets what, and cannot be held personally responsible for the pay of their colleagues.”

They have also indicated for upcoming seasons, “Going forward, nobody gets paid more than the Queen.”

2 Responses

  1. Matt Smith was definitely a bigger name at the start of the series, probably would have even helped get a lesser known, less bankable name the role of the Queen. Claire Foy’s star is of course well on the rise now, she’s an exceptional actor, I think I’ve even heard Matt Smith say how blown away he constantly is by her. It’s just two actors at different stages of their career commanding different wages, compared to their commercial pull. I don’t think either of them care, they’re well on their way and Foy is arguable one of the brightest rising stars on the planet. No one’s saying “oh she was a great Doctor Who I’ll watch that”.

  2. With all due respect to Claire Foy I had never heard of her prior to The Crown whereas I was aware of Matt Smith’s work. I believe the TV and Movie industry is unique when it comes to payment for actors services. Isn’t it the general rule most production houses will acquire a marquee actor because it’s all about putting bums on seats?

    Should we also apply this ridiculous rule the next time Meryl Streep performs? Let’s have a conversation why men were paid less than her. It’s such a silly argument.

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