The Crown’s Imelda Staunton Talks Challenge Of Taking Over As Queen

Imelda Staunton is looking forward to taking her turn at playing Queen Elizabeth II on the Netflix hit show, The Crown, following in the royal footsteps of Primetime Emmy winner Claire Foy (Seasons 1 and 2) and Oscar winner Olivia Colman (Seasons 3 and 4).

Imelda Staunton Talks About The Crown

But the 64-year-old actress knows that playing the older and more contemporary Queen that people are more familiar with will have its challenges. According to People, the actress spoke to Emma Barnett on BBC radio’s Woman’s Hour about the difficulties of playing the final Queen Elizabeth.

“I think my sort of extra challenge, as if I needed it, is that I’m now doing the Queen that we’re a little more familiar with,” Staunton said during the interview. “With Claire Foy, it was almost history and now I’m playing one that people could say ‘she doesn’t do that,’ ‘she’s not like that,’ and that’s my personal bête noire.”

Staunton is a longtime star of stage and screen, best known for playing Dolores Umbridge in the popular series of Harry Potter films and for playing Lady Bagshaw in the Downton Abbey movie.

She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Vera Drake, a 1950s British drama about illegal abortions.

Based on Staunton’s experience, Colman has come out as saying the actress is better prepared for the part than she was when she took over for Foy, noting she “already got a much better walk than me.”

Staunton also weighed in on the slight controversy over whether or not Netflix should add a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode, noting that events are slightly fictional—something the UK government is hoping for.

“I think that is up to producers and directors,” the actress said. “This isn’t verbatim; this isn’t taken from diaries. You’ve got to use your imagination, and I’d like to allow the audience a bit of intelligence. You can’t know that’s what Margaret and Elizabeth were talking about.”